


A Clear Vision

by Katakombae



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, WandaVision (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Vision (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, Protective Vision (Marvel), Team as Family, Vision (Marvel) Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29794446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katakombae/pseuds/Katakombae
Summary: An AU where Vision got the mind stone taken out in time, but everything else remains the same. Vision's side of the story post Infinity War and Endgame, leading into an alternate version of WandaVision in time. Vision discovers his more 'human' side after successfully removing the mind stone and surviving the dusting, but at what cost?
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 44
Kudos: 163





	1. A life for a life

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how long this will go, but I'm hoping to give this all a happy ending. Thanks for reading, this is mostly just a self-satisfaction thing I'm going for, but I hope you enjoy it.

“I got it!” Shuri exclaims proudly as she pulls the final virtual thread from the mind stone. The stone lifts from Vision’s head, causing him to convulse a twitch violently.  
“Vis.” Wanda worriedly clutches his hand, looking into his eyes.  
“I’m alright, Wanda.” He responds weakly, reassuringly squeezing her hand,” Now you need to destroy it.”  
Wanda nods solemnly looking to the floating stone in front of her. The sight of it glowing with power seems to resonate with something inside of her. With a deep breath, she reaches towards the stone, coating it in layers upon layers of red energy. She gives one last smile to her love, before extending her arm towards the windows of the tower, sending a bolt of energy to shatter the glass. She sends the stone out of the window, quickly following after it.  
As she disappears from view, Vision struggles to get up, trying his best to move towards the windows. He grunts in frustration at his new limited functions. He looks down to the battlefield, watching his friends destroy the intergalactic troops. He lets out a small sigh of relief, before a jaring stabbing pain explodes into his reality. He’s thrown into a nearby wall as Corvus Glaive impales the synth through the abdomen, glaring at the now empty hole in Vision’s head.  
“Where’s the stone?” Corvus growls out, putting more pressure into the glaive.  
“I’ll never tell you.” Vision sneers back through gritted teeth. Corus lets out an angry yell , taking out the glaive and raising it to strike. He pauses, looking slightly to his right, before a sickening grin creeps across his face. He lifts his glaive and hits Vision over the head one more time, before leaping out of the window.  
Vision groans, touching his head and looking over to the window. He then looks up to the carnage on the floor above him. He leans heavily on the wall as he forces himself up to his feet. He grunts and groans, trying to force his broken body to the windows. He tries to float into the air, but can’t manage to stay aloft for more then ten seconds. He hits the floor and lets out a yell in anger.  
“Vision.” Shuri’s voice shocks Vision, as he quickly looks to try and find her. She limps slightly down the stairs, holding her gauntlet loosely in her hand. She limps over to Vision, staring him up and down. She carefully looks at the fresh wounds given by Corvus, before quickly limping to the back of the lab. Vision hesitantly follows.  
She swipes objects off tables in an angry huff, looking for something. She frantically scans from table to table, until she picks up a necklace made of fangs of some kind. She laughs triumphantly before turning to vision and tossing them to him.  
“I can’t make the repairs right now, but this will keep you walking and fight ready.” Shuri says,” Put them on.”  
Vision puts on the necklace, and a swath of black erupts out, covering his body in a black panther suit. He looks shocked at the sudden development.  
“Come back once this is over and I’ll fix you properly.” Shuri laughs,” Now go! They need you out there!”  
Vision nods, the frustration of his injuries hindering his movement now gone. She sprints to the busted window, jumping out and taking to the air in flight. It’s not as stable as he can normally sustain, but it’s useful enough. He looks to the battlefield, where the tides seem to be turning in the favor of the Avengers. Thor erupts the battlefield in lightning, killing dozens of enemies in a single swing of his new weapon. Then the call comes.  
“If anyone can hear me, I need immediate backup.” Wanda’s voice echoes over the coms.  
“Location.” Steve’s voice responds almost inhumanly fast.  
“Eastern forest area.” Wanda responds quickly.  
“On my way.” Vision says over coms, turning to the forest, scanning for life. He finds the thermal response of Wanda, along with two other figures that don’t appear to be allies. He flies over at the fastest pace he can muster, landing heavily on Corvus.  
Vision begins his fight against Corvus and Cull. Exchanging blows to keep them away from Wanda as she floods the gem with an immense amount of energy. For every blow he receives, Vision makes sure to pay it back and keep attention on him. The battle pauses for a moment when Captain America appears from behind Corvus, stabbing him from behind with his own staff. Vision thankfully nods and continues to fight Cull. Bruce Banner breaks through the trees, tackling Cull out of sight, leaving Vision and Steve to watch over Wanda as she continues into the gem.  
Steve and Vision stand, ready to fight anyone when the stone explodes. The blast knocks them to their knees, causing Vision to whip his head around to look at Wanda. She lies on the ground, her chest heaving heavily. He rushes over to kneel by her side, slowly helping sit up. He holds her gently as she pants heavily, gasping for air. She looks up weakly and gives a grateful smile towards Vision. He gleefully gives her a smile back, kissing her forehead.  
“Oh, my children, why so exhausted?” The booming voice of Thanos seems to echo in their souls, making their hearts tremble in fear. The pair slowly turn their attention to the approaching titan, no sign of defeat on his face. Vision carefully positions himself between the titan and Wanda.  
“You can’t win.” Vision says with a slightly desperate tone. Tahnos only chuckles slightly in return,” She destroyed the stone, you can’t win!”  
“Can’t I?” Thanos lifts his gauntlet, a shimmer of green surrounding it, making it’s way up his arm. He slowly turns his hand. Vision looks in front of him, the forest rustling quietly. Wanda yells from behind him, and he turns just in time to see Wanda being batted away by the imposing purple figure. Vision leaps forwards to cushion her fall.  
Vision quickly checks her over, she’s panting heavily from the use of her power. She hazily looks to Vison, face full of worry and pain. Vision tries his best to comfort her, carefully holding her in his arms and placing himself as a block between the titan and his beloved. He doesn;t want Wanda to see him, to see their failure.  
Lighting rains from the sky, and hope wells up in Vision once more. If anyone could stop Thanos it’s Thor. He hears the thunder crash and the sound of an impact behind him.  
“Vis.” Wanda sighs out weakly.  
“I’m here.” He says, taking her palm and placing it onto his cheek,” You did a great job, Wanda.”  
“Vis...” A small smile appears on her lips as she gently caresses the synth’s cheek. The warmth wells up inside the two of them as they share this wondrous moment together.  
“Wanda...Wanda I…” He starts to speak, when the hard clink of metal impacting echoes behind him. He doesn’t dare to look, instead locking eyes with Wanda, horrified. Her calm and happy eyes turned panicked in a moment. Vision desperately clutches to her hand, but it soon starts disintegrating in his own. “No...no, no, no, Wanda.” She weakly looks to Vision, a sad smile on her face, and a single tear in her eye.  
“I’m sorry.” the words almost echo as her body dissolves into brown ash in his hands.  
It takes a moment for him to process, before he begins to try and catch the pieces in the air, without success. He holds the small bundle in his heavily clenched hand where hers was set. He slowly brings the ash to his forehead, to the small hole where the stone had once set. He pushes his clenches fist harder into his forehead. If he could cry, he would, he wants to.  
“I can’t feel you.” He whispers in a horse tone. He sobs dryly, the pain in his chest almost burning from the intense emotions. He silently clutches the ash to his chest, hoping to sooth the fire. It isn’t until a hand firmly plants itself on his back, that he’s alerted to the presence of many others around him.  
He looks up to see Captain Rogers, eyes wet with tears, but also cold with a sense of conviction. Vision looks around to see Rhodey, Natasha, Okoye, Doctor Banner, the sentient Racoon and Thor. Everyone looks disoriented and confused. Only Thor looks shaken, yet regretful of the situation. Vision could figure just by that sound.  
They lost.


	2. Aftermath of the Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision must confront the experience of human emotions in the direct aftermath of a tragedy. Thankfully he's not as alone as he would like to thinl.

The walk back to the tower felt longer than the whole battle. The emotions weighing heavy on everyone’s mind, the dread of still processing grief over the loss everyone shares. Vision blankly stares ahead, ignoring the sobs and outrage of the passing Wakandan’s at his appearance. Everyone’s voice sounds the same, every color a dull shade of brown instead of the orange hues of the sunset.  
Once the group of injured and dilapidated heroes appear in front of the tower, a small group of barely held together guards come to greet them. Their eyes seem sunken, their voices not coming out as they mouth words without meaning. Okoye stays behind to comfort the defeated soldiers, trying her best to put on the braveface of a general for her people. Vision can’t help but feel a strong jealousy of her strength, of the humanity he feels he can never possess. The group moves into the tower.  
“Miss Shuri.” Vision’s voice echoes through the bloody hall leading to the main lab area,” Miss Shuri, I’ve come to return the suit. I also have some...unfortunate news to share about your brother.” He walks slowly in front of the others, scanning the open space for any forms of life,” Miss Shuri?”  
No response of life anywhere in the facility. Vision gasps softly, floating down to the bottom floor, scanning the back of the lab where his savior had aided him so feverishly.Nothing but a small pile of ash next to the table where the necklace around his neck once lay. He gently lowers to his knees, hesitantly touching the small pile, the sudden vivid memory of her hopeful smile bursting into his head. It hurts far more than any wound he had accumulated over the battle.   
“Vision?” Natasha’s voice startles the synth, recoiling his touch. He takes in a harsh breath before rising up to his feet.  
“It appears that Princess Shuri has unfortunately passed away as well.” Vision’s voice remains eerily steady as he reports to Natasha. He knows he’s a robot in a sense, but he never thought he could report a tragic loss with such ease. He looks to Natasha, hoping she shows more emotion than he’s able to. She stands, motionless, fixated on the small pile of ash. She takes a fast and harsh breath in, shuddering slightly.  
“I believe our highest priority should be figuring out if Queen Ramonada has survived.” She says in a shaken breath, before letting out a dry laugh,” You know, I’m not sure if it would be more or less of a relief if she’s still around. If she is, there will be at least a small amount of order maintained in the monarchy, but we’ll have to tell her that her two children died. If she gets dusted, then at least she won’t be alone.”  
“Natasha.” Steve appears behind her, gently patting her shoulder,” Right now we need to hope as many people as possible have survived this disaster.”  
Vision looks to the seemingly unshaken Captain. How could be so seemingly unphased by this situation. He lost his friend he had so desperately tried to fight for just two years prior. Vision just can’t comprehend, a strange sensation for someone who should have the sum of all human knowledge at his disposal.  
“I’ll fly up to the palace to see about the status of the Queen.” Vision responds, beginning to walk past the pair. He’s stopped by Steve with a firm grip on his shoulder. Vision looks into Steve’s eyes, a sympathetic look drenched in pity looks back at him.  
“You need to focus on fixing yourself.” Steve says in a careful tone,” You’ve done plenty already, friend.”  
The words feel sincere, but cut through Vision like a knife. He doesn;t feel as though he’d done much except create an obstacle for the team this past twenty four hours. Yet he’s the one being comforted. The deep well of sadness stings horribly, a freezing cold where a fire once raged, and Vision can do nothing about it. He solemnly nods to Steve, setting himself in the table Shuri had used to remove the stone from his head.  
He interfaces silently with the silent lab, ignoring the exit of the others he’d arrived with. He lets himself revel in the stinging silence as he accesses different files and programs to take over the facility and begin the necessary repairs.   
The sun fades past the horizon before anyone comes back into the tower. Steve slowly walks into the main hall of the tower. The hum of machinery breaks the dead night’s unbearable silence. He looks down to the bottom floor from the overview platform. Vision stands in front of the shattered window, overlooking the darkness hiding corpses of aliens and humans alike. He’s carefully holding a piece of broken glass between his fingers, twirling it slowly, transfixed on the horizon.  
Steve makes his way to the synth. As he slowly approaches, vision straightens his back and takes in a small breath, letting out a sigh.  
“Based on a scan of the visible area from this platform, I can estimate we’ll need roughly forty eight graves for the warriors of Wakanda.” Vision turns his head, showing Captain a look of heart wrenching sadness,” And around fifty eight memorial plaques for those who were dissipated by Thanos. It’s a rough estimate, due to the wind present at the end of the battle which seems to have taken the remaining ash, as well as the potential of the mixture of different ashed person’s mixing with each other through said wind.” Vision clutches the piece of glass, turning his attention back to the battlefield.  
“Vision.” Steve slowly approaches.  
“Three hundred and seventy six.” Vision quickly cut off Steve,” That’s how many other worldly corpses I can clock from here alone. It was an amazing fight, a true triumph for humanity. A testament to the stubborn and flexible rigidity your species has in the face of adversity.”  
Steve puts his hand on Vision’s shoulder, hoping to reassure him. It causes Vision to fall to his knees. Vision’s gaze goes to his hand. He opens it to reveal the small piece of glass, glowing faintly red, a remnant of Wanda’s magic. Steve feels the cold shock run through his system.   
“I’ll never see her again, Captain Rogers.” Vision’s voice sounds so cold, yet dripping in a despair,” I know this as a fact, yet I can’t help but feel so horribly empty at the thought I’ll never see her again.” Vision looks to Steve,” How are you able to mask your sadness so well, Captain? I can only imagine you feel the same emptiness as me, yet you present yourself so strongly.” Steve falls to his knees, embracing Vision in a hug. Steve’s small shudder, not going unnoticed by Vision.  
“It has nothing to do with strength, friend.” Steve says in a soft tone,” I just know that if everyone shows their true emotions right now, the world will fall into more chaos.” Steve pulls away, and positions himself so he can look into Vision’s eyes,” We’re still here, Vision. We have to look at the reality in this situation.”  
Vision and Steve look into each other's eyes, exchanging a conversation without the need for words. Vision, now understanding how the world will continue to turn, the universe will continue to exist, and the world's need for the avengers, now more than ever. Steve, understanding the delicacy of emotion and that pain of the first major loss one must experience in their life, and the worldview changes that come with that. Steve brings Vision in for another hug.  
Once they break the embrace, they stand. Vision looks once more to the small glass shard, then phasing it into his hip for safe keeping. Steve gives him a sad smile.  
“What will you have us do now, Captain?” Vision asks, smiling back.  
“Our best.” Steve jokes. The two exit the tower together, preparing themselves to face their new world.


	3. New Friends and Touching Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the world begins to settle, the Avengers greet a new ally, and hope for the return of a trusted friend.

It’s been two weeks since the snap. Vision finds himself almost exclusively inside of the Avengers Compound. He has to stay inside in order to be close to the facilities arc reactor to maintain a stable charge. He figured out a few days after it’s removal, that the infinity stone was his main power source which kept him running smoothly. It wasn’t a large, breathtaking discovery, but it almost led to a power down without a way to reboot. He quickly configured a wireless charging apparatus, connecting to the Avenger’s arc reactor.  
In a word, Vision is busy. While the other avengers spend their time taking turns monitoring a small pager found at Nick Fury’s last known location, he’s taken to being the main source of communication between various government officials, making plans to try and settle unrest building throughout the world. He also works with the team and the officials to try and finish the official census for the world, figuring out just how much devastation Thanos caused before he disappeared.  
Vision works around the clock, barely stopping to charge every twentish hour. It’s the only thing that stops him from thinking independently. Everytime he allows his mind to wander, the visions of that day play on loop over and over. Wanda’s smile, her panic, her last words. They repeat until it’s near unbearable to even exist, ringing constantly in his ears, forcing him back into sorrow he’d hoped the work would eventually take away. He’s come very close to trying to manually delete those memories, but just the thought sends a worse pain and sadness coursing through his body than the memories could ever give him.   
When he finds himself in a lull of work, he often finds himself sitting in Wanda’s old room. It had been years since she’d been here, but it still bears an undeniable mark that this was once the place she called ‘home’. He finds when he’s sitting on her bed he can relive some of the happier memories he shared with his beloved. He had even found her secret stash of sitcoms. She would always watch them when training was particularly tough, or she was reminded of Pietro in some way, or even when she just couldn’t think of anything else to do. He found himself often joining her in the little watch parties, having her explain the recurring jokes, laughing at the physical humor, enjoying the moment with her.  
He was more fond of Malcolm in the Middle sitcom, he enjoyed their take on family and the way the characters spoke directly to the camera, like they were speaking to him directly. It made him feel like he was a part of the show. However, Wanda once told him she preferred the Dick Van Dyke show, so everytime she would ask what they should watch, he would happily recommend that. Deep down, he’s sure she knew the trick he was trying to play, but she would still happily watch her favorite show nonetheless. Wanda’s smile was far more enjoyable than any tv show or movie they could watch together.  
On this particular night, Vision finds himself watching an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show. He smiles to himself, laughing at the jokes he’s heard plenty of times already, fiddling with the shard of glass from Wakanda he had stored away. It’s once sharp edges are now dull and smooth from his near constant fidgeting. It’s glow had faded ever so slightly, but her traces still remained enough for him to treasure the little piece.   
He snaps out of his trance-like state when he hears an intense amount of movement around the compound. He pauses the show then phases through the walls of the facility, until he reaches the main lab area. He watches Bruce, Natasha and Steve murmuring amongst themselves around the pager. He continues to observe when the sensors around the Avernger’s facility alert him to a nearly impossibly fast presence entering from the air. In slow motion, the blur enters the facility, heading straight towards his team. Vision moves quickly to intercept it. As he approaches, he realizes there’s a figure of a humanoid female covered in the light of the blur. He uses his body as a blockade, slightly raising his arms, starling the woman.  
“Apologies, Miss, but what business might you have on these premises?” Vision asks as he stops the blonde haired woman in a blue, red and yellow jumpsuit. The glow in her glare startles Vision for a moment, but he stands firmly in place.  
“Where’s Fury?” She almost growls out. Before Vision can answer, Natasha and Steve appear by his side, ready for a confrontation. Vision nods reassuringly to Steve, raising his hands in surrender.  
“Director Nicholas Fury was an unfortunate victim of the Mad Titan Thanos.” Vision says in a cold, yet calm tone,” I presume you are the one he was trying to contact via the pager in the other room.” She looks between the three in front of her, her eyes dimming to reveal her brown eyes underneath. She takes in a breath before extending a hand towards Vision. Vision takes the hand and gives it a sturdy shake.  
“Carol Danvers.” She says in a steadfast tone,” And yes, I believe you must have been waiting for me. I gave Fury that pager in cases of extreme emergency. Who’s this, ‘Thanos’?” She takes her hand from Vision, extending it towards Steve.  
“Steve Rogers.” He says, taking her hand and briskly shaking it,”He came to Earth fourteen days ago. He snapped a special gauntlet, which held the power of six infinity stones, basically erasing half of all life from the planet. If not the universe. He disappeared before we could try to apprehend him.”  
“That would explain the inordinate amount of empty spaceships I encountered getting here.” Carol whispers to herself, reaching her hand out to Natasha.  
“Natasha Romanoff.” Natasha takes her hand and gives it a quick shake,” So, what’s your deal?” Steve nudges her slight, making her scoff,” Fury doesn’t trust anyone. Now a glowing woman appears from God knows where, saying he called her. I want to know her schitc.”   
“Superpowered former-kree soldier, now a freelance hero throughout the galaxy.” Carol smugly grins as she pounds her fist together, letting out a small spark of cosmic energy. The trio look in awe at this small feat of power, but quickly orient themselves.   
“If you’re from space, do you happen to know of a planet called Titan?” Vision asks, ”Based on information gained from our friend Rocket, that may be the planet Thanos originated from.”  
“Titan? Titan...oh yeah, it’s a desolate planet in space. It was completely eradicated through natural causes, like famine and plague. Not a life form present, and not an ecosystem to sustain it.” Carol looks up and down at Vision, a slightly questioning look on her face before shrugging,” It’s basically a glorified asteroid floating through space.”  
“Well, according to Rocket, we may have some allies on or near that glorified asteroid.” Steven chimes in, walking over to a nearby table, leaning heavily on it. He takes in a large breath, staring at the ground in front of him.   
“I know we’ve just met…” Natasha breaks the cold silence bluntly,” but I guess we’re now going to ask if you could fly to Titan and see if any of our friends survived. We’re currently not capable of the type of space travel needed to get there in a timely manner. It's actually a godsend that you came. Otherwise we might’ve…”  
“Nat.” Steve sternly looks over to Natasha. She takes in a sharp breath, swallowing it before looking back to Carol.  
“That is a big ask.” Carol says jokingly. She crosses her arms, pondering for a moment. She eventually sighs,” But I’ll do it. Any allies are good allies at this point.”  
“I know it’s a lot more to ask…” Natasha says, sarcasm oozing from her voice,” But could you do it as soon as possible? Like we said, it’s been fourteen days, and I don’t know how some of our humans will do for that long in space.”  
“At least attempt to bribe me first.” Carol scoffs, mockingly placing a hand on her chest in fake shock.  
“Ah, would you like monetary compensation for your efforts?” Vision earnestly asks, trying to ease the tension in the room. Natasha and Carol let out small laughs, before regaining their composure and smiling to the synth.  
“Just give me a place to stay and three meals a day. That’ll be enough.” Carol says with a small chuckle. Vision hesitantly nods and walks away to begin preparing a room for their new intergalactic friend.   
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
As quickly as she came, Carol left. She didn’t reappear for more then a week, crushing the nonexistent spirit the team tried to fake. Everyone got back into their respective relief efforts, working to try and keep the worry out of their minds. Rocket began working with Bruce and Vision to create a satellite broadcasting an intergalactic signal. Now that they know about life on other planets, they think they should at least try to start peaceful communications with some of the less hostile creatures out there.  
It’s a quiet day when Pepper Potts decides to visit the Avengers compound. She’d been showing up about three times a week, hoping for news on Tony’s whereabouts, trying her best to keep up a fake optimism about her lover's condition. Vision greets her and takes her to her favorite spot, next to the largest windows overlooking the field in front of the compound. He silently makes her tea, allowing her to get comfortable. Every so often she’ll ask a question to make conversation, which Vision will diligently respond to, creating a soothing back and forth that breaks the heavy silence that’s otherwise present. After around three hours, with the sun dipping well below the horizon, Pepper looks out the window with tears forming in her eyes. She doesn’t want to give up hope, but it’s becoming really hard not to. Vision quietly drapes a blanket over her shoulders.  
The floor begins to rumble. Vision looks around, confused, there shouldn’t be any reason for an earthquake to occur this far from a fault line. He looks to Pepper, who seems fixated on the sky, pressing her hands firmly on the glass. She gasps in shock, jumping to her feet and sprinting out to the field. Vision quickly follows in suit, followed by the rest of the Avenger’s team.   
Once outside, the group looks to the sky, watching something approach quickly. It’s figure is hard to make out in the fresh blanket of night, but it doesn’t look like a plane nor a helicopter. The small glowing figure beneath it alerts the group to it’s identity. In a matter of minutes, Carol reaches the ground, gently settling the large spacecraft on the grass of the compound. The door slowly opens, revealing a blue woman carefully helping a battered Tony to the ground. Steve quickly takes Tony from her.   
Vision does a quick scan of Tony’s body, identifying a slight case of oxygen asphyxiation, a large wound haphazardly treated on his side, extreme malnutrition and severe dehydration. He tunes himself with the compound, automating the preparation of an emergency saline drip, a rations bag full of calorie-full items, an oxygen tank, and a heated compress inside of the main foyer of the compound. Pepper quickly pushed past, holding Tony’s face in her hands, crying. Tony gently kisses her cheek, whispering something to Steve. The group begins to head inside, leaving the blue woman and Rocket to sit on the stairs of the ship. Vision stays back behind the group, watching the duo quietly comfort each other. He’s startled by a sudden hand on his shoulder.  
“I have some friends I need to check up on.” Carol says, patting Vision’s shoulder reassuredly,” I’ll be back by the morning. Make sure the big guy gets some proper treatment.”  
“Thank you for everything, Miss Danvers.” Vision smiles and nods to Carol.  
“Please, just call me Carol.” She laughs, before taking to the air, flying away. Vision looks to the other two, giving them a solemn nod before following the larger group into the facility. Not even a few feet into the facility, Tony loses consciousness, falling limp towards the ground. Steve catches him, and with help from Rhodey, they take him to a nearby spare room.   
Vision grabs the first aid material he prepped remotely, and meets the group. He first attaches Tony to the saline drip. He flinches in his sleep, but continues to rest. Vision looks to Pepper, by Tony’s side, and slides her the calories rich rations. He then places the oxygen tank around Tony’s mouth and nose, making sure nothing leaks out, and turns the valve to start the flow. Carefully lifting his shirt, Vision carefully places the heated compress to the wound on his side, before covering him with the blanket.  
“I estimate he’ll be asleep for at least twelve hours.” He says, carefully fixing the tank besides the bed,” When he wakes, make sure he eats at least half of the rations provided. He’ll take some time to get going, but we should leave him for now.”  
“Any substantial injuries?” Steve asks in a gruff tone.  
“Nothing life threatening I can see, just some sutures that will need to be looked at by a medical professional as soon as possible.” Vision says in a reassuring tone,” He just needs to rest right now.”  
The group silently nod to each other, carefully and quietly exiting the room, leaving Pepper and Tony. A silent agreement is held between everyone, it would be best for all of them to get some sleep before facing the new day tomorrow. They break off, headed to their respective rooms. Vision remains near the entrance of the building, waiting for Rocket and the blue woman to come inside. It takes nearly an hour, but they eventually close the hatch of the ship and begin walking towards the building. Vision holds open the door as they enter.  
“I am The Vision.” He says as they walk into the facility, he looks to the blue woman as she enters,” I must thank you for the care you put into ensuring Mister Stark’s safety. It means much more than you could possibly know.” The blue woman stops in her tracks, her hands clenching at her sides. Rocket looks up sadly to her, before giving a sympathetic smile to Vision, and taking one of her hands in his own. She straightens up, looking down to Rocket, then staring straight in front of her.  
“Nebula.” She says quietly, before walking away with Rocket. They disappear up the stairs, leaving Vision alone in the foyer. He lets out a small sigh, floating over to his corner, entering low power mode, and saying goodbye to another turbulent day.


	4. Trying to Relate

After the morning meeting, and Tony’s small freak out, Vision stands outside of Tony’s room. He’s listening to the planning meeting happening in the adjacent room, carefully absorbing the details and allowing himself to feel a spark of hope, where there’d been only a void this past month. He barely listens to the bickering of his teammates, instead allowing himself the luxury of imagining Wanda at his side again.  
He smiles to himself, thinking about the tv marathons the two will have once she’s back, the stories he’ll tell her of the otherworldly friends he’s made in the time she’s been gone, the exciting idea of holding her close once more.  
“Let’s go get that son of a bitch.” Steve coldly says, bringing Vision back to his senses. He watches as the group separates to get ready for their trip. Steve approaches him.  
“Are you going with us?” He asks, a sad smile and steadfast eyes piercing into Vision. Vision looks at the Captain, giving a halfhearted smile. Oh, how he wants to go. He wants to rip that purple potato chip’s face in half, to feel a small amount of satisfaction at burning his home to the ground, to be the one to snap everyone back into existence. But deep in his heart, he knows he can’t.   
“I’m sorry, Captain.” Vision replies softly,” I feel someone should be here for Miss Potts when Mister Stark wakes up. I’ll look after them to the best of my ability until you all return triumphantly.”  
Steve gives a sad smile, patting Vision’s shoulder slowly. He grabs Vision’s shoulder and leans him in close so he can whisper,” What do you believe the odds really are, we come back successful?” Vision feels a tinge of shock at Steve’s words. The normally intensely positive Captain never showed a sense of doubt to anyone, let alone his companions. He then feels a pain deep in his chest, a feeling he had forgotten due to his use this past month. A pain that once used to define his everyday life. Steve wasn’t looking to Vision as a companion at this moment, he was looking at a tool.   
Vision carefully runs the odds and probability in his head, whispering back,” With all of the known variables, the best answer I can give you is that there’s a six percent chance of success.” Steve pulls away, a sad smile crossing his face. Vision reluctantly smiles back,” Good luck, Captain.”  
Within the hour, the team begins quick repairs to the spaceship, easily finishing with Rocket’s fast and precise instructions. They head out around three in the afternoon, leaving only Vision, Pepper and Tony in the compound. Once Vision confirms the security measures are in order, he quietly knocks on Tony’s door, waiting for a reply.  
“Come in.” Pepper says quietly. Vision phases through the door. He looks down to the emaciated Tony on the bed. Pale and gout, he can’t help but feel pity for his creator. He checks the IV drip, recording the speed of the drip and the volume of the bag. After the check in, he looks to Pepper, giving a small smile. She absentmindedly returns the smile weakly. She barely looks better than Tony, the worry has taken its toll on her as well. Vision can’t help but try to relieve at least a little bit of her worries.  
“Would you like something to eat?” Vision asks carefully. Pepper looks to him and nods silently. Vision nods and phases through the door, heads to the kitchen.  
He looks through the ingredients left by the team, scanning through his catalogue of meals he’d compiled over the years. As he looks, he notices a small bottle of paprika. He pauses, staring at the small bottle, so rarely used in any of the quick meals the others had been making. A few people had asked why it was in there at all, Vision always reassuring that he’d been told that’s the safest place to store it. He still remembers when Wanda scolded him for nearly an hour when he casually left it out one night.  
He takes it out, gently holding it into his hands. After a moment, he gathers a litany of ingredients out of the fridge, settling on making chicken paprikash.   
He preps the ingredients. Once he begins to cook the onions, Pepper joins him in the kitchen, sitting on a chair on the opposite side of the kitchen island. She watches Vision absentmindedly, staring at the pan sizzling with heat.   
“I should be thankful.” She says, her stare unflinching from the meal,” I know I should. He came back. I know that a lot of people aren’t as lucky. It’s just…”  
“You don’t need to try and justify yourself, Miss Potts.” Vision responds, keeping an eye on the onions, as to not burn the pan. “This is a strange and unprecedented scenario. You, as many of the others in the team, were expecting the worst. It’s hard to accept that the new normal we have become accustomed to shattering as fast as it was established.” Pepper breaks her stare from the pan, looking up to Vision,” Yes, you’re lucky, I will admit to that. However no one is holding that against you.”  
Pepper continues to stare at him. Trying to think of what to say, what she could possibly respond to. For a robot, that was a surprisingly human thing to say. She’s shocked. Vision finally looks up to her, giving a small chuckle at her dumbstruck expression. He adds the paprika and chicken to the pan, allowing it to simmer.  
“Have you ever had paprikash, Miss Potts?” Vision asks.  
“Um, I don’t think I have.” She says, regaining her composure.  
“Though I don’t have any experience with eating, I’ve been told I make a pretty good rendition. A real four star chef.”  
“Not five?”  
“Not having the ability to taste really tanked my rating for my first few attempts at cooking.” Vision laughs fondly, stirring the dish,” She never let’s me forget the time I accidentally used sugar instead of salt.”  
“She?” Pepper looks at him with a mixture of confusion and wonder,” What, did you find a nice toaster out there?” Vision pauses, before setting down his spoon on the counter. He stares into the slightly bubbling mixture. Pepper looks at him with a bit more confusion, taken aback at the intense reaction to her joke,” I’m, uh, I’m sorry. That was a bad joke.”  
“No, no. I understand.” He says in a cold tone,” I’m just a robot, isn’t that right? You’ve only seen me as such. All of you have only seen me as such.” He begins to stir the mixture once more, measuring the temperature to cook the chicken to an edible level.  
“Vision.” Pepper begins to talk, but Vision forcefully sets down the spoon, with a loud impact. She flinches. Vision walks over to a cabinet, taking out a plate. He puts a decent sized portion of paprikash on the plate, before putting it in front of Pepper with a fork. She hesitantly begins eating. The first bite, full of a unique and delicious flavor, melts away the tension in her shoulders, and she quickly begins eating larger forkfuls of the dish.  
“My favorite color is red.” Vision says solemnly, picking up the pan, shoveling the leftovers into a tupperware,” My favorite sound is earnest laughter from a loved one. My favorite site is the smile of my favorite person smelling a freshly bloomed rose.” Pepper stops, mid bite, to look at Vision,” I personally can’t eat, but my favorite dish is a warmed chocolate chip cookie, based on the smiles I see of the people who can eat them. I, too, felt an intense amount of worry when Mister Stark didn’t come back to earth right away, and I lost someone immensely precious to me to Thanos.”  
“I, uh…” Pepper swallows her bite, but Vision cuts her off.  
“Wanda Maximoff.” Vision says, staring Pepper in the eyes, shocking her.  
“Oh.” Pepper sets down her fork a little shocked.  
“Miss Potts, I don’t mean to come off as crass.” Vision’s voice softens,” I just...Wanda looked at me as a person, she looked at me with such affection and care. I allowed myself to get spoiled, expecting that others would see past my material makeup and treat me as an equal.”  
“Oh, oh Vision.” Pepper reaches across the island, resting a sympathetic hand on his,” I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”  
“I can’t hold that against you.” Vision says, staring at her hand,” I can’t hold it against anyone really. It’s an unreal expectation, I can understand that. I mean, there’s still a significant number of cases where human still discriminate against each other based off skin tone.” Vision looks to Pepper, a horrified expression on her face,” Oh, oh that was meant as a joke. To ease the tension? I assume that wasn’t how you took it.``   
Pepper’s face changes through several emotions in a matter of seconds. She eventually lands on a confused smile. She lets out a small chuckle, before releasing his hand, falling back into her seat. She picks up her fork, stirring the chicken on her plate. The silence is striking, Vision tries to think of anything to relieve the tension. He’s angry at himself for even creating this situation.   
“So how long were you two together?” Pepper finally asks. Vision take in a breath.  
“Well, it wasn’t until about a year and half ago that we decided to start trying to pursue the relationship a bit more seriously.” Vision takes the pan and begins washing it,” I think we both held affection for each other for a while before hand. At least, I did. I was just scared of the possible repercussions she would face. But, the more time we spent together, the more our feelings grew. We started going out of way to create situations where we could spend as much time together as possible, away from our responsibilities.”  
“How sweet.” Pepper leans on the counter, becoming slightly engrossed in the story.  
“It was.” Vision chuckles,” We would randevou in cafes and catch up. I think my favorite memory was when we met in Munich during Oktoberfest. It was purely by chance. Mister Stark had sent me as a mediator to continue negotiations around a year after the airport incident. I happened upon her on the edge of town, she was a couple drinks in to put it lightly. She was dancing to the music of the polka band, happily laughing and clapping with a few of the other patrons. I couldn’t help but smile, watching her just so thoroughly enjoying herself. When she saw me, her face lit up like a child on christmas.” Vision can’t help but let out a small laugh as he stares off lovingly into space,” I didn’t realize just how quickly she could sprint until she had body slammed with a hug.”  
“Awe.”  
“We spend the rest of the day together. I mostly followed her through her own little bar hopping adventure, but it was still thoroughly enjoyable. It ended with Captain Rogers finding us and taking her away. Ah, how funny it was to see her whine and pout about having to leave.” Vision laughs fondly, making Pepper let out a small smile. She looks to the robot with a newfound fondness, realizing she’s never really taken the time to talk with him like this before. She slightly regrets that she hasn’t done it before.  
“Ah, those stupid Germany meetings.” Pepper sighs,” That was the biggest pain in the ass. Tony took me to those meetings a few times, luring me, telling me it was a ‘vacation’. He always gave me a half-assed apology when we would land, but he always made it up tenfold.” Vision looks at Pepper, who smiles fondly to the air, daydreaming about her experience,” The second time he tricked me, I told him that he’d better take me to Disneyworld ro make up for it. That idiot rented out Epcot for two hours as soon as we got back to the states. How can I stay mad at him after that?”  
The two share the moment, happily reminiscing over their favored memories. But the thing about moments is, they don’t last.   
A large clatter alerts the pair. Pepper quickly pops out the chair, hustling to the room. Vision follows close behind, entering the room right after her. Tony’s trying to sit up in his bed, hissing swears under his breath as he tries to claw out the IV from his arm once more. Pepper quickly tries to stop him, trying to calm him down with reassuring statements. Tony seems to snap out of his daze once Pepper’s face enters his vision. A smile appears on his lips for a moment, before he slumps down in the bed, exhausted. Tony then notices Vision in the doorway, his smile slowly fades.  
“Didn’t realize I still needed a babysitter at this age.” Tony chuckles to himself. He ushers Vision in, beckoning him into the room,” Come in, come in. It feels weird when you just stand there like a camera.”  
Vision hovers slowly into the room, nodding sympathetically to Tony. Tony looks to Pepper, a smile on his face as he takes her hand. Pepper smiles sincerely, gently caressing Tony’s face, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Vision walks slowly over to Tony’s IV, making sure Tony hadn’t burst his vein with the violent outburst earlier. Tony lets out a sigh.  
“So where’s the overgrown boy scout?” Tony asks mockingly to Vision.  
“The Avengers went out into space to try and kill Thanos.” Vision says quietly, reapplying medical tape over the IV,” According to Rocket, they should return within the week. Maybe even as soon as three days.”  
“Those assholes.” Tony angrilly mutters angrilly.  
“They’re trying to help everyone.” Pepper says in a quiet reassurance.  
“They’re going to end up dying!” Tony yells in response,” It doesn’t matter what they do, if Thanos has those stones they’re going to die horrible, painful deaths.” The room falls silent. Tony’s ragged breathing makes time resume.  
“We need to keep up a positive attitude.” Pepper tries to grab Tony’s hand, but he shrinks away.  
“Positive attitude?” Tony’s cold glare could curdle milk,” There isn’t any positivity anymore, Peps. When we lost, when we failed, positivity became an endangered resource. Everyone lost someone, something, and we couldn’t stop the damn monster who took it all.” He clenches his fist, staring at it angrily.  
“Don’t you dare blame yourself.” Pepper aggressively takes Tony’s hand. Tony looks shocked at her. Tears fill her eyes as she glares back at him. Tony clears his throat, at a loss for words. He turns his attention back to Vision, almost as if he’s studying him for the first time.  
“Something’s....different about you.” Tony says, eyes still meticulously scanning the synth,” Did you get a haircut?” Vision smiles.  
“A close guess.” Vision chuckles out, before tapping next to the hole on his forehead,” It appears as though I’ve ‘lost my mind’ more than anything.” Tony gives a small snort at the unexpected response. He looks at Pepper.  
“I’m gone for a month and you guys replace ‘the funny one’ with a robot.” Tony looks back to Vision, carefully observing the hole, becoming Vision to lean down. Vision obeys the silent command, leaning down for Tony to study. He mutters under his breath, seemingly planning something in his own world.  
“Mr. Stark, if I may.” Vision says, quietly retreating from Stark's calculated gaze,” I must finish cleaning up. If you would like, there’s some paprikash left over.” Vision nods and retreats out the door. He sighs to himself. This is going to be a long week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, episode nine of WandaVision destroyed me. Even so, I will die on the hill that Vision also loves Sitcoms because of Wanda. I think it's cute. I'm also going to leave this : https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chicken-paprikash-5523405 here. It's a pretty good recipe for chicken paprikash, I made it and thought it was pretty great.   
> I hope you have a great day, hopefully some more humanized Vision can help you through any sadness that finale brought you.


	5. Uneventful Returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team comes makes it back, only for the discourse to become less than friendly. True feelings get exposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed the title of the work. It was a bit to dark, and I think I'm going more for a deeper look on vision then anything. Thanks for reading.

Tony makes sure the days don’t go by uneventfully. Everyday he wakes up with a start, screaming and yelling, trying to get out of bed but collapsing to the floor almost immediately. Pepper can’t stay the whole time, needing to go home for a new change of clothes. Vision requests for Tony to stay for further recuperation, and Pepper agrees reluctantly when she sets off on the morning of the fourth day of the Avenger’s absence. 

Vision watches over Tony when he decides to get into the wheelchair for a trip outside of his room. Vision walks behind him, pushing him at a moderate pace around the ground floor of the complex. Tony hums a small song to himself, as he looks around the nostalgic scenery. Once he recognizes the tune, he clears his throat and grimaces to the air in front of him.

“I want to go to the lab.” Tony grumbles.

“It’s not wise for you to work too hard.” Vision responds quickly.

“I’m fine.” Tony spits out, and a harsh cough follows. Tony grumbles angrily,” I’m fine. I just want to do something. It’s hellish to have all the means to do something, but not being allowed to. If I’m going to be...imprisoned, I at least want not to be bored.” Vision lets out a sarcastic chuckle. “And what, pray tell, is so funny?”

“When the cause is ‘protection and safety’ for someone else, locking them here is fine and justified.” Vision prattles as he saunters through the halls,” Yet when you have to experience the same, it’s boring and hellish. The irony is palpable. If I could taste, I bet it would be sweet.” 

“Look, I apologized for that several times over.” Tony growls out, waving his hand away dismissively,” I thought it was the best for everyone. After  **two years** , I think I would finally deserve a break from that stupid mistake.” The wheelchair stops, in front of the large glass windows. Tony looks out on the browning grass, the bright blue sky he had missed for so long, and the forest swelling with trees in the distance. He feels a sense of intense relief and sorrow, and happiness to finally be home. Vision’s face slowly appears in the reflection of the glass, a somber grimace as he looks at the same scenery. “Penny for your thoughts.”

“I’m just taking in the scenery, much like yourself.” He responds in a dazed tone,” It feels strange to take a moment like this, to see the same sight I’ve witnessed hundreds of times at this point. But it’s different now.” Vision looks into the reflections of Tony’s eyes. 

“Yeah…” Tony breaks contact as he looks back outside,” Yeah, it’s different.”

“Shall I make you lunch?” 

“I’m alright. But can I, can I please just look in the lab. I built the damn thing, I think I deserve that much.” Vision chuckles at the sentiment. He looks to Tony once more, he looks forlorn and desperate. Vision sighs.

“If you stay in the chair, and keep your fluids attached, I believe I can let you work for an hour or so.” Vision says, watching a small smile grow on Tony’s face. He begins to back up, when the walls begin shaking violently. Tony and Vision’s sight shoots to the sky, as they watch the ship land on the field in front of them. Tony stands quickly, placing his forehead to the glass, watching the others begin to leave the ship.

The silence is deafening. Tony stares as Steve exits the ship. Steve looks up, locking their eyes. The dark circles under his eyes tell more than words every can. Tony slinks back into his chair. Vision feels, not disappointment, but cold. What small amount of hope he had retained, has left his system. He silently takes Tony back to his room without protest, before coming out to the lounge to greet the heroes.

When he enters the room, everyone has their heads hung in defeat. Vision can’t think of anything to say, he just observes the disheveled appearance of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Thor breaks the silence by slamming his fist on the table, before getting up and pushing past Vision out of the room.

“Thor…” Rhodey sympathetically calls.

“Let him go.” Natasha says weakly,” He’s been the hardest hit by all this.”

“We were all hit hard, he’s not special.” Rocket hisses out,” He should be happy he got the killing blow.”

“A noble honor.” Nebula says coldly.

“We’ve had this conversation a dozen times, can we cool it for one goddamn day?” Rhodey angrilly spouts,” For god's sakes, if Thor can’t handle being around us, then let him go.”

“Rhodey, calm down.” Steve stands and walks over to Vision. He gives a sad look, and pats his shoulder. Vision takes a shuddered breath before nodding solemnly.

“I’ll make some tea.” Vision says quietly. He begins walking towards the kitchen before stopping and turning to the group once more,” Thank you, for doing your best.”

The next day Carol leaves briskly, saying how other planets will need her help more than earth. Rocket and Nebula follow after her later in the day, after leaving a means of communication in the case they were needed on earth again. Day quickly turns to night, and the remains of the team sit around the lounge, eating takeout in silence. Tony finally breaks the silence with a loud sigh.

“This is a depressing sight.” Tony moans loudly,” I thought when you guys weren’t here, it sucked, but now it’s so much worse.”

“Sorry we aren’t all sunshine and rainbows right now.” Bruce grunts in response,” It’s been a shitty couple of days. No, not even days, it’s been a shitty month.”

“Oh cry me a river.” Tony angrily responds,” I knew everything was going to shit a month ago. It’s been shitty for you? It’s been shitty for me! You had a fully functioning spaceship from your little trek to the cosmos. I was stranded and almost died in space. Almost died, and I’m not down in the dumps like you losers. No I want to move on, I want to get back to making shit, but your preprogrammed supernanny kept me on strict watch and bedrest. The world didn’t end, so stop acting like it did.” Natasha slams her fork down and glares at Tony,” Now why in the hell do you care so damn much? Who could you personally have lost that’s made you this mad?”

“Half of the universe.” She growls back.

“Trillions of beings died.” Steve angrilly pokes his fork into his box of rice,” Did space humble you to the point you lost all empathy?”

“And every single one of those beings was just and right person who didn’t deserve it?” Tony shoots back,” Of course I’m upset that we lost, and that all those people died prematurely, but that doesn’t make them reappear. You’re living proof of that.”

“Watch what you say, Tony.” Bruce glares at him.

“Or what, you’ll have another groundbreaking internal debate?” Tony scoffs, taking a large chunk of beef out and chewing it loudly,” Oh I’m so scared, you're going to shit your pants trying to turn green. Please, go right ahead Jekyll.”

“You’re being a dick.” Rhodey says, walking over and taking his food from him,” Even for you.”

“I’m stating facts.”

“Then what would the great and powerful Stark suggest we do?” Steve glares at Tony.

“We. move. On.” Tony spits back,” We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and make sure this world doesn’t fall to more shit and collapse while we mourn. We move on, like the one’s who aren’t here would want us to.” Tony looks to Rhodey and sighs,” I know I’m being an ass on this topic, but I can’t stand looking at you all anymore. You have a right to be sad when all is said and done, but this tragedy isn’t done talking. We have to move on.”

“That’s easier said than done.” Natasha scoffs. She leans back, readying an eggroll to throw at Stark, when Vision gently holds her wrist.

“Though rude and unempathetic, Mr. Stark is right.” Vision carefully removes his hand.

“You made that thing, of course it’d believe you’re right.” Rhodey throws Tony’s food catron at Vision. Vision phases the projectile through him, sighing and looking down.

“I mean that no amount of sadness and regret over the past will change it. It’s up to us to path the road to the future. Once we’ve helped to set a decent foundation, we can take the time to mourn and go to therapy.” Vision walks over towards Tony. Rhodey looks at him like he would look at a pile of dung on the sidewalk,” I in no way condone the way Mister Stark has talked to you all tonight. These are just the thoughts of one who was also humbled through this loss.”

“Take me to the lab, Vision.” Tony grumbles. Vision nods, wheeling him out of the room and giving an apologetic nod to the others.

“He’s got a point.” Bruce says quietly looking at the pile of mongolian beef on the floor near his feet.

“Oh come on.” Rhodey scoffs,” Don’t go taking the overglofired roomba’s side just because you’re it’s dad or something like that.”

“Don’t talk about him that way.” Nat looks at Rhodey with a confused stare,” He’s apart of the team, robot or not.”

“He’s not a part of the team, he’s just a faulty computer.” Rhodey points angrily at his leg supporters,” No member of a team would injure another so easily.”

“He didn’t mean to do it.” 

“That doesn’t mean he didn’t do it.” Rhodey grows and angrily stomps away,” I’m going to bed.” He leaves, the sound of a slamming door above causing the remaining three to flinch. Steve walks over to the trash can and tosses his dinner inside. He lets out a sigh and looks to the others.

“We’ll discuss this further in the morning.” Steve says,” I’m going to take a page out of Rhode’s book. We all need to get to bed.” He leaves the room without any rebuttal. Bruce cleans the spilled food near his foot, before going to bed. Nat stays in the room, half heartedly eating her food. 

She pulls up the holographic globe infographic on the table. She watches the numbers for each country continue to grow. Not as quickly as before, but still gut wrenching to witness. She feels tears forming in her eyes and tries pushing them away with the palms of her hands. She lets out a shaky sigh, tossing her food in the trash. She turns off the lights in the room, leaving the floating world to glow aimlessly in the room. She looks at it one last time, to burn it into her nightmares. 


	6. Power Comes from Within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony brings a gift for Vision. Helpful as it is, it leads him to make a realization he's not ready for.

Four months after the blip, the census has finally completed throughout the world. Tony has long since left the avengers compound, along with Bruce and Rhodes. Steve has also been expressing a slight hesitancy with trying to fully continue under the title of Avengers. He starts coming in less frequently, only appearing in the compound around four times a week. Nat’s the only one who’s at the base near constantly like Vision. She’s adapted to a leadership role, organizing with others through the world to keep on top of any trouble that pops up around the world. She often turns to Vision for heartfelt and pleasant conversation, relating more to the synth. 

Ten months after the blip, Steve has become a rarity at the compound, now barely showing up once every two weeks or so. He’s rented a small apartment in New York, and has begun living a sentimental life, starting support groups, joining others, generally living a slow life of recovery. Nat can’t hold it against him, if anyone deserves rest, it would be good old Captain America. It doesn’t stop the immense pressure she’s put herself under, but it’s a strange comfort knowing that her friend is doing his best in his own ways.

At about eleven months post blip, Tony arrives on the steps of the compound, holding a large briefcase. Nat is offsite, participating in a UN meeting about fair distribution of relief funding and assistance. Vision greets him and leads him to the main lounge area. Tony gratefully sits, and looks around the room. So many good memories, buried beneath the few disgusting one’s he’s retained. Vision begins to leave the room, but Tony grabs his arm.

“I actually came here for you, big guy.” Tony says, looking up with a small smile on his face. He’s made a complete recovery, his face is full of life and vitality. 

“What can I help you with, sir?” Vision asks.

“I come bringing a gift.” Tony places his suitcase on the table giving it a sturdy pat,” I felt a bit of pity for you over the past year, so I used some of my ample freetime to make this. You don’t have to thank me, though it would be appreciated.” Tony opens the case. Within, a small version of the arc reactor Tony had depended on sits on a bed of insulating foam. Vision looks at the small, blue glow coming off of the machine, before looking at Tony.

“Is this?”

“It’s no mind stone, but then nothing can be.” Tony says, laughing softly,” It’s the closest I can get to perfecting it. It should create and maintain enough power for you to function without flaws for probably a hundred years. After that you may experience some difficulties, but you won’t completely shut down for centuries. That’s at least if my calculations are correct, and they mostly are.” Vision smiles.

“Thank you Mr. Stark.” Vision says kindly. Tony grimaces for a moment.

“I think that needs to change.” Tony says gruffly,” As much as I appreciate formalities, I feel a strange disconnect when you refer to me so formally.”

“That’s how you wished to be addressed.” Vision says bluntly. Tony sighs in an agitated manner. He looks to Vision, once again taking in the red skin of the synth, studying every small movement of his being. So close to human, yet so far, yet more human than many of the people Tony’s experienced in his life.

“Tony.” Tony says briskly,” Please. Just call me Tony.”

“Very well, Tony.” Vision smiles happily, infecting Tony to smile in response. 

“Well, if I’m going to be putting this bad boy into your head, I’m going to have to ask you to power down.” Tony closes the case and stands, starting to walk towards the lab. Vision doesn’t move.

“Power down?” Vision asks, his voice slightly shaking.

“Will that be a problem?” 

Vision goes over the possibilities that would come with a full power shutdown. There’s a chance he’ll lose many of his memories, and that terrifies him. Just the thought of living without precious memories he’s held so dear makes his circuits freeze with anguish. Sure the possibility is small, only around eight percent, but he places his hopes on lower odds. He looks sadly at Tony.

“I’m unsure if I can allow that.” Vision states slowly. Tony looks at him in confusion, Vision chuckles,” Tony, you’re almost asking me to voluntarily die and revive at your hands. There may be unfortunate consequences of this action that I just can’t risk.” Tony looks slightly shocked.

“It’ll just be like a quick nap, what possible consequences could there be? You’re tired when you wake up?” Tony asks, agitated as he walks up to Vision,” I’m going out of my way to be nice to you, and you have the gaul to try and reject me?”

“What if I wake up fundamentally different from when I first shut down?” Vision asks in a steady defiance,” I am afraid to lose what little bit of humanity I can dare claim, Tony. How can you be sure that everything that makes me, me, will remain after all is said and done? I can’t risk losing everything when I’ve found a way to sustain my existence without it.” Tony looks at Vision, his expression drips with determination.

“What if I back you up onto an external hard drive before the procedure?” Tony asks,” That way, if something irreparable happens to your memory or core drives, we can just reupload the previous file and restore you. Would that ease some of your burden?” Vision looks at Tony. He can feel his sincerity, the real want to try and help. Vision still feels the fear, but he can understand the importance of getting a new energy source and autonomy. Vision nods in a reluctant agreement, Tony smiles sympathetically and leads Vision to the lab.

\----------- 

What sounds simple, often isn’t. Tony has to work day and night on Vision for three weeks, until he can finally begin powering up once more. The process of starting up takes another day. When he finally awakens, he’s relieved that his memories remain intact, that he remains intact. It’s the middle of the night when he wakes up, no one’s awake. In fact, as far as he’s aware, no one’s even in the building. He’s alone.

He walks around, looking through the darkness, barely aware of how long he’s been asleep. He walks to the familiar large windows, looking out to the shimmering lights away on the horizon. He looks at his reflection in the glass, his new blue core glowing dimly in the darkness. He smiles and takes a breath, phasing through the window into the crisp air of the night. It’s refreshing, in comparison to the stagnant air he’s become used. He floats slowly over the field, and even slower towards the forest. He takes a hesitant glance back to the compound, dark and dreary. He smiles to himself, launching himself towards the forest.

He lays close to the ground, making sure to monitor air traffic control frequencies so as to not crash into the small number of planes that happen to be flying. As he flies, he scans the internet for news regarding the newly built memorial wall for New York victims of the blip, along with any news regarding memorials for fallen heroes of the blip. Once he finds what he wants, he increases his speed.

When he touches down onto the pavement in front of the old Avengers tower, he morphs to look more ‘human’ as he would on his outings with Wanda. He looks around hesitantly before walking towards the large building. He walks through the newly built path to the interior garden area of the tower, where large monuments stand to honor fallen heroes who fought in Wakanda. He looks sadly to Sam, then to King T’Challa, to Bucky Barnes which slightly surprises him, to Peter Parker, until landing on Wanda’s memorial.

The ten foot stone pillar, with her likeness carved through like a marble statue, greets him. His chest swells with a feeling of happiness at being able to see her once more. The statue has her posed in her casting pose, a nostalgic and powerful image to Vision. He looks to the plaque standing in front of her memoriam, he reads the praises sung about her. How she gallantly sacrificed her life to stop Thanos from collecting all the stones, how she saved hundreds during the battle of Wakanda by drawing away some of the heaviest hitters from the battlefield, how she helped to evacuate and secure Sokovia. Vision smiles happily, running his hands over the praise he’d always wanted her to hear. If he could cry, he would, he looks once more to her statue, floating gently into the air, to carefully caress her cold stone face. He takes a shaking breath in, leaning in and gently kissing it.

“I love you.” He whispers softly. He floats next to her, taking every impeccable detail the artist carved in, happy someone had noticed her godly beauty like he did. He shakily forces himself away from the statue, planting his feet on the ground. He looks around the base of the statue, noticing a litany of flower bundles, some withered, some fresh. Mixed in with the flowers are small teddy bears and cards with her name written on them. 

He picks up a small card with a large red heart on it. He opens it and begins to read:

‘ _ Hello Ms. Maximoff. Mom told me to write this to express my gratitude for you, since you won’t be able to hear it directly from me anymore. I want to say thank you. My big sister was helping out in Sokovia when Ultron attacked, thanks to you she was able to safely evacuate from the floating city. It’s thanks to you I can still call myself a little brother. I know a lot of people feel the same. I’m sure you had your reason to fight the others in Germany, but just know you’ll always be my favorite superhero. -Billy Jacobs (14)’ _

A large pre-printed ‘Thank you’ takes up most of the right side of the card. Vision feels a lump in his throat as he looks at another card.

‘ _ Miss Maximoff, words can’t describe how thankful I am to you. I’m devastated that you're gone, but know that there are plenty of people out in the world who look up to you. It’s not everyday we can see an amazingly strong woman get the best of known superheroes. Thank you for sacrificing yourself for us. Thank you. -Jessica Danielson (24)’ _

Vision picks up a drawing of Wanda levitating in the air surrounded by her red power, a large smile on her face. Another drawing of the Avenger’s all happily smiling together get’s Vision’s attention. It’s not professionally made, it looks like it’s been drawn by a middle school age child, but it somehow hit’s Vision the hardest. The scribbled names of the team in different colors makes Vision sniff. It’s beautiful. He copies the image in his head, making sure to identify every detail. He smiles, breathing heavily, sobbing dryly as he holds the notes and pictures in his arms, squeezing them tightly. He looks up to Wanda once more.

“They see you as I do, my love.” He happily sobs. After a minute, he carefully places the sentiments back at the base of the statue. He quickly leaves, taking to the sky once he’s out of the building.

He races back to the compound, phasing through all the walls as he makes his way to her room. He hovers inside, his feelings a mixture of overwhelming joy and immeasurable sadness. He falls to his knees and dryly sobs, taking out his piece of glass, clutching it as tightly as he can. As ready as he thought he was to accept it, he can’t accept she’s gone so easily. His hypocrisy is palpable and hilarious to him, but it doesn’t stop the horrible ache in his chest. He sobs harder, collapsing to the ground completely.

The lights flick on, startling him. He looks to the doorway. Tony and Nat look at him with sorrowful and pitying looks, they must have come back during his excursion. Vision tries to turn his head, and shield himself away from their gazes. He feels ashamed to be seen, until a warm sensation covers his back. He barely turns, seeing Tony and Nat piled on top of him, tears in their eyes, hugging him from behind. Vision breathes heavily, sobs still forcing themselves out against his will.

“It’s ok, let it out big guy,” Nat says softly, her voice trembling as her tears fall.

“Take your time.” Tony says in agreement, his tone a cold mask to hide his sorrow.

The group sits on the floor for what feels like hours. Vision cries the hardest. Nat and Tony sit beside him, making sure to reassure him that he’s not alone. Once they’ve calmed down, Vision sits up, taking in his surroundings again, wiping his nonexistent tears. He turns to Nat and Tony, giving a thankful smile. The two pile on him in another bear hug. Nat holds his clenched hand in hers, reassuringly patting it and trying her best to smile. Tony smiles while patting his shoulder. He takes in a sharp breath before getting to his feet, extending a hand towards Vision to help him up.

“I, uh, I think I’m going to stay around here for a couple more days.” Tony says with a reassuring smile,” To make sure there’s no defects with the reactor. To monitor its power output and all that jazz.”

“Thank you, Tony.” Vision says with a small chuckle.

“Tony?” Natasha laughs.

“Yeah, yeah, come on. Let’s go to the lab.” Tony takes Vision’s hand to guide him. Vision doesn’t really move, looking towards the small box set of Malcolm in the Middle in front of Wanda’s dvd player. Nat notices his stare and clears her throat, looking at Tony.

“Ya know, Vis…” She hesitantly starts, trying to think of the right words,” I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight. I think my internal clock is still set to Germany..” She laughs dryly and looks at Visio and Tony who both look at her in confusion,” What I’m saying is would you mind having a tv night with me tonight? You’re obviously invited too, Tony.” Tony still looks confused, before noticing Nat’s small clues to look at the box set. He quickly puts two and two together.

“That’s a wonderful idea, Romanoff.” Tony says, quickly moving over and picking up the dvd’s,” I mean, I just woke up from like a thirteen hour powernap. I’m full of tv watching energy.” Vision smiles to the pair, aware of their efforts to make him feel better. He takes the lead out of the door, looking back to them and chuckling.

“I’ll make the popcorn.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta be honest, I made myself a bit sad while writing this. I'm going to try and start adding a bit more light to this angst in upcoming chapters. Thanks for reading.


	7. Little Yellow House

It’s been about a year and seven months since the blip, October 2019. At the Avenger's compound, Natasha finishes a weekly debrief meeting with the other members of the Avengers, ending the call with her signature,” This line is always open.” When she finishes she slumps into her chair, looking through a small pile of paperwork regarding the future of the organization. She halfheartedly skims through it, as a mug of hot chocolate gets placed besides her. She looks up with a smile at Vision.

“Good work today, miss director.” He says with a smile, presenting a small plate with a monte carlo sandwich and chips. She gratefully accepts the plate, tossing aside the paper and taking a large bite out of the sandwich. Vision fidgets slightly. 

“I know this is a bribe, but I can’t really guess what you're about to ask me.” She says jokingly. She takes another bite of her sandwich, then taking a large sip from the mug. Vision looks at her and begins to make hand motions before attempting to talk. Nat had come to know this nervous habit of his.

“Nat, I would say that we’re friends, correct?” Vision finally manages to spit out, Nat nods her head in hesitant agreement,” I would even consider you my best friend. Don’t get me wrong, I know Clint holds that position for you…”

“I can have a few best friends.” Nat laughs, Vision looks relieved for a moment, before his nervous stern look comes back.

“Therefore, as my friend, I was hoping you could accompany me to...to a certain place.” Vision hesitates on his words, looking at Nat with worry.

“Vision, you are my friend.” She says, placing down her sandwich,” I don’t see you as any more than that.”

“What?” Vision asks, before it dawns on him,” Oh, oh god no. I’m not asking you out, Nat. I just have somewhere I want to go, but I don’t think I can do it on my own. I want you to come with me for a sense of emotional support, to aid me in the first step towards acceptance.” 

Natasha looks at him. She’s gotten used to his presence as a jokingly kind character in her life. She’d rarely get him this vulnerable since that day, so seeing him become a little desperate is a shock to her. She looks at the sincerity in his eyes, feeling moved by her friend's plea. She takes another bite of her sandwich, giving a glance to the papers on the desk. If she’s going to do anything today, it wasn’t looking at those again. She looks at Vision and shrugs with a smile. Vision smiles happily in response. 

“So where is this ‘certain place’?” She asks, crunching a couple chips.

“It’s in...New Jersey.” Vision pauses, watching Nat for a reaction. She sighs loudly, giving another thoughtful glance to the papers,” I’ll tell you more about it on the way there. I don’t want to get too into it before we get there.” Nat looks at him with a twinge of suspicion, but lets out another sigh, standing and stretching. She begins walking out of the room, Vision looks at her in confusion.

“I’m not driving.” She jokes as she leaves the room.

Nat sits in a red Buick LaCross, twiddling her thumbs as she waits for Vision to get to the garage. She hums to herself, noticing Vision walking quickly over to the car with a small bundle of papers in his hand, dawning his human camouflage. He waves once he sees her in the car, quickly hoping in and giving her the stack to hold onto. They’re off in no time, heading down the small isolated road to the highway. Nat turns on the radio and looks at the small bunch of papers in her lap. She slightly shuffles them around, with a neatly folded tan paper catching her eye. She lifts it up out of the pile, and Vision looks at her.

“Oh, um, can you...put that back?” He asks hesitantly.

“What is it?” She asks, ignoring his request. She begins to unfold the pages carefully. Vision reaches over to try and stop her, but she jokingly pulls it away. Ripe with curiosity she puts it just out of Vision's reach and opens it.

It’s a deed, to a small plot of land in a town called Westview, New Jersey. Under the blueprint of a house, in a large red heart are the words ‘ _ To grow old in. -V’ _ . Natasha looks in heavy confusion to Vision. His human face falters for a moment showing his red skin, replaced with his human cover blushing heavily. He opens his mouth and stutters for a moment before taking in a breath.

“I bought a house for Wanda and myself a while ago.” Vision begins with a sigh, he looks at Natasha who has a horrified expression on her face” I wasn’t going to give it to her immediately, even I know that would cross some lines. My plan was, to restore and remodel the house while she was still on the run. Then, once she would be acquitted of her crimes in Germany and such, I would present it to her as a sort of proposal. We would go ring shopping and move into the house. Get married...speaking of, did you get your invitation to Tony’s wedding?”

“Oh, oh yeah.” Natasha snaps out of her trance and looks at the road ahead,” Yeah, that’s coming up, isn’t it? It was a bit of a surprise they waited until Morgan was born to start planning it.”

“I think it shows Tony’s dedication to trying to live a slow and grateful life.” Vision says with a smile,” I’m certainly excited to be a groomsman.”

“Oh, what? That’s amazing.” She says, smiling at Vision before blinking and coming back to reality,” Wait, wait, we aren’t abandoning the house so quickly. I’m going to need a little more reason as to, ya know, why a house? Why not a dog first? Everyone likes dogs.”

“Again, I know it’s weird.” Vision sighs,” I just thought too far ahead in the future. I wanted a stable house to create a real home for the two of us. Somewhere she wouldn’t have to fear being feared. So I decided to start looking for houses in small towns where the threat levels would be the lowest. I then thought about her favorite things and looked for a more ‘retro’ house that I could modify to look like some of her favorite shows. This was going to be a possible multi year project, mind you, but I found a house that would fit my criteria in Westview. I put in a bid and got it rather easily.” Vision laughs, nostalgically thinking of the shock he felt when the confirmation email came in,” I was going to visit and start renovating once I got back from Glasgow...we know how that went.”

“So we’re going to visit it today?” Nat asks while looking through the other papers on her lap.

“Yeah.” Vision says sadly,” I think the first step of trying to process this grief deep within, is to face the promise I never got to make.”

“So are you going to sell it?”

“No.” Vision laughs,” Quite the opposite.”

“Oh?”

“I’m going to go through with my original plan. I’m going to renovate the house in a way I think she’d like, and live a life I think she’d be proud of.” Vision smiles sadly to himself,” I’ll make friends, help the community, maybe even get involved in support groups when I feel more comfortable.”

“And your avengers duties?”

“I’m thinking of becoming an ‘Avenger on Demand’, sort of like Clint.” Vision signs to himself,” It’ll be my main job when I’m needed, but I’ll live a normal life otherwise. I’ll create a home.``

“So you're gonna just leave me alone in the compound?” Nat asks in a sulking tone.

“Not for a while.” Vision laughs,” I’m not going today to move in. It’s still too soon for that. I think I’m going to gradually work on it from now on, eventually moving in a while from now. By that point, you may have moved out of the compound.”

“Unlikely.”

“Then call it a hope of mine.” Vision says sadly,” You deserve to be able to move on as much as I do, Nat. Don’t tie yourself down with guilt.”

The radio keeps the car from fading into silence. Vision knows he crossed one of the invisible lines. Their tension fades after the fourth hour of driving, when Vision takes the exit to Westview. When they eventually get into the town, Nat observers the scenery quietly. Her heart aches as she sees the litany of closed shops, broken windows and browning grass. She looks at the citizens of the town, haggard and worn as they shuffle about their daily lives. She shakily breaths in and out, before sinking into the chair. Vision looks at her sympathetically, continuing to drive carefully through the town center.

After a few more minutes of driving, Vision pulls into a driveway of a yellow house with a comfortable seventies look. The small front yard, lined with a neat brown fence, has shriveled bushes and small weeds growing where flowers once bloomed. Nat gets out of the car first, carefully arranging the papers in her arms so they don’t fall. She walks slowly to the front of the house, admiring the white pillars framing the front door. It’s nice, that much she’ll admit. 

Vision takes longer to get out of the car. He stares at the yellow house in a sad contemplation, wondering whether it was wize to come here or not. He takes two minutes d=before exiting the car, standing next to Nat as she admires the house. It hurts to look at the house, but Vision takes it in all together. He covers his mouth and sighs deeply. Nat gently rubs Vision’s back in reassurance.

“Shall we go inside?” She asks, gently pushing Vision towards the door. Vision takes in a deep breath.

They approach the door, Vision fumbling with his pockets to find the keys. He breathes heavily as he pats and pats, until he finally finds it. He shakily pulls it out, a single key adorned with a small red keychain he’d put on it long ago. He shakily inhales as the key slowly glides into the deadbolt, clicking open with a turn. He carefully opens the door with a creak. 

The interior oozes with the same nostalgic feeling as the exterior. The smooth brick floor leads to three small steps, into a shag carpet lounge. The large windows adorning the far wall show the onergrown remains of a backyard, To the left of the entrance is a small closet surrounded in stone, even further is a small dining room with a ball-like chandelier in the center of the room. Directly in front of the entrance is a stone wall with what looks like a water fixture that’s supposed to cascade water down the wall, it’s long run dry. Slightly to the right it a floating staircase leading to the upper floor, and just past that is the kitchen. A small door leading to the garage lies to the right of the front door, in the lounging area. 

Nat walks in, looking at the long outdated styling sense, impressed someone had managed to keep it looking like this for so long. There’s no furniture in the house, though she can easily make out the shadows of furniture that used to rest in the house. She walks around the bottom floor, looking through the house thoroughly. It’s cute. She turns to look at Vision, who stands, frozen in place a step into the entrance. 

He looks around, very slowly, taking in the ambiance of the room. Looking through his eyes, visions play in his head. He pictures a slow dance to an old tune in the living room, Wanda happily swaying back and forth to his rhythm. In the kitchen she attempts baking with him, smudging his nose lovingly with homemade buttercream frosting. In the dining room, they’re playing an intense game of monopoly, ending in a trade of boardwalk for five kisses. He pictures coming in through the garage at the end of a workday, to Wanda happily singing in Sokovian as she makes a meal in the kitchen. 

He falls to his knees as the visions continue, each one more bittersweet than the last. He looks towards the second floor, imagining the sounds of Wanda cheerfully calling for him. They sound so real, he gets to his feet, finding himself walking up the stairs before he can comprehend anything else. The narrow hallway leads to four doors, opening into the master bedroom at the end. He follows her sweet calls into the master bedroom, excitedly crashing in to see her smiling face once more. He searches the room, only to be met with the same emptiness as the floor below. The sadness hits him harder then he ever could have guessed. He’s thrown to his knees once more. 

Natasha follows him quickly, watching him drop. She watches him cover his mouth, breath deeply and stand once more. Trembling slightly as he fades to his usual red skin tone. He looks around once more sadly before turning to face her. She smiles sympathetically.

“Where should I put the paperwork, boss?” She asks, lifting the small stack in her hands. Vision breaths hesitantly and smiles back.

“Let’s put those on the kitchen island.” He smiles as he walks past her, taking the papers out of her hands. He walks downstairs to the kitchen, putting down the papers on the linoleum kitchen island. He stares at the mass, sighing wistfully.

“It’s a nice house.” Nat says as she enters the kitchen,” A little outdated, but that’s what you were aiming for.” She looks at Vision, he smiles at her remarks,” She would have loved it.”

“I think so too.” He gently spreads out the paper and looks to Nat,” I think I’ve done enough here for today.”

“We’ve only just gotten here.” 

“And that’s more than enough for me at the moment.” Vision lets out a sigh,” This is why I needed someone to come with me. I’m still not ready to fully face this.” Nat gives him a pat on the back, smiling sincerely.

“The only thing that matters is that you’re taking the steps to move on.” She says gently,” If you really want to go, let’s go. You can leave the papers here for a reason to come back.” Vision nods.

The two slowly walk to the door, Visions staring at the old shag carpet under his feet. Once they reach the front door, Vision quickly turns to close and lock the door. He shakily sighs, as something tugs at his pant leg. He looks down to see a little girl, she has on a bright orange wig, a red long sleeve jacket and black pants. She smiles eagerly, before lifting up a small orange pail.

“Trick or tweat!” She triumphantly says with a grin filled with holes of lost teeth. Vision gives a confused look, then looks at nat who shares his confusion.

“Hannah!” A woman calls from the fence,” Remember, we’re just doing a practice run today.”

“I’m not Hannah.” The girl says with a pout, finally lowering her pail and looking to her mom.

“And who might you be, then?” Vision asks, kneeling down to look at her better. She turns to look at him, her face beaming with pride. She hurriedly grabs something out of her pail, a red ball about the size of a baseball. She moves her hands around, making a whooshing sound effect.

“I’m Wanda from the avengers!” She happily squeals and she moves the little ball around the air, like an airplane. She continues to whoosh around, happily giggling to herself.

“Well isn’t that amazing?” Nat says, crouching down,” I didn’t realize Wanda was just out and walking about.” Nat looks to vision who gives her an icy glare in return. The girl is scooped up by her mother.

“Sorry about that.” The woman says with an apologetic smile,” She’s just really excited for Halloween, so I told her we can do a practice run so she can show off her costume.” She brushes a strand of bleach blonde hair out of her eyes, giving a smirk and kiss to her child. She looks to Vision, then to the house,” Are you moving in?”

“Ah, eventually.” Vision looks between the two.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” the woman shifts her toddler in her hands to extend one towards Vision,” I’m Sarah. I live right across the street down there.” Vision shakes her hand, she then points to a house with a few rose bushes out front.

“Ah, lovely.” Vision says with a smile,” I’m, uh…” He looks to Natasha, who gives a subtle nod and smile,” I’m Vision. Pleasure to meet you.” Sarah’s eyes dot from Natasha to Vision, slowly realizing the situation.

“Is Wanda your favorite hero?” Natasha asks, smiling at the little girl.

“Yeah!” She giggles happily back.

“She’s mine too.” Vision says with a smile. Sarah lets her down, letting her run around the yard. Sarah looks hesitantly towards the two.

“Vision. You wouldn’t happen to be…” She looks at Natasha, her eyes widening with surprise,” And you’re…?” Nat puts a finger to her lips in a playful shushing motion, Sarah collects herself. She smiles happily,” So you’re moving to Westview? I didn’t realize you two…”

“We’re not.” Natasha cuts in,” He’s moving to Westview, I’m just here for emotional support.”

“Ah, I see.” Sarah says with a visible wink.

“I was going to move here with my darling, but she was an unfortunate victim of the ‘blip’.” Vision says with a smile,” My friend is here as just that, a friend.”

“Mommy, let’s go!” Hannah yells from the front gate. 

“Coming, Wanda.” Sarah playfully yells back,” It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

“Can we keep this little rendezvous a secret?” Natasha asks in a soft tone,” Don’t need to add any stress to the neighborhood, right?” Sarah nods and walks over to meet her toddler. The two happily prance down the street, leaving Natasha and Vision on the front lawn.

“Good neighbors.” Nat says, gently hitting Vision’s chest. He smiles warmly in response. He walks over the car slowly.

Vision sits in the driver's seat, admiring the yellow house in front of him. It doesn’t look as imposing or intimidating as when he first came. When Natasha closes the door, he starts the engine. He smiles warmly, looking at the house,” Let’s go home.”


	8. A Perfect Nanny?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision spends time with a certain little girl, allowing him to learn more about Westview and it's residents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fell as though I've gone a little heavy on the angst this whole fic. I wanted to add a bit of wholesome stuff, (there's a little angst tho) so I present to you, the babysitting episode.

It’s a sunny day, on a cool spring day. Vision’s working hard to assemble an Ikea bookshelf on a patch of the newly installed carpet. He grumbles in frustration at the litany of identical pieces, while playing a mix of seventies music over a small bluetooth speaker in the corner. He sighs loudly, tossing down the small allen wrench onto the pile of silver accented metal. He looks outside, admiring the bright blue sky shining through the window, taking in the warmth. He stands up, stretching his arms as he rises, his neatly tucked baby blue plaid shirt, becoming slightly untucked and ruffled from his khaki pants. 

He takes a look around the room. The only furniture adorning the room is an old lawn chair, a small end table he brought from the compound, and a black decorative lamp, gifted to him by Tony. The walls are adorned with photos, some of Wanda and Vision, a few from Tony’s wedding, and a few with a couple photos of friends. There isn’t much in the house, but it’s far more than the last couple times he’s tried to visit. He’s even managed to come by himself today.

There’s a knock at the door, startling Vision slightly. He shifts to his human camouflage, dusting off his shirt, and answers the door. Tony stands in front of him, holding a large bundle of flowers. Vision gives a small confused laugh in response. 

“Pepper’s getting pretty into botany.” Tony pushes the flowers into Vison’s arms while he takes a step into the house,” Sweet digs. Really cozy, homely. Those are peach colored roses. Know what that means in the language of flowers?” 

“Appreciation?” Vision responds, heading towards the kitchen to find something to put the flowers in,” I’m unsure why you're appreciative.”

“Uncle Vwis!” The small, femine voice yells from the entrance. Vision whips his head around, making eye contact with the small girl sprinting towards him at full speed. She jumps, and he catches her elegantly with a chuckle.

“Well if it isn’t little miss gumdrop.” Vision chuckles, swinging her in a circle around the kitchen,” What has brought the princess of sweets to my humble house?”

“Pepper and I desperately need a date night.” Tony places the flowers in a small bucket he found in the closet,” Normally we’d try to ask Happy to look after her, but he’s gone on a trip to visit his folks. Then, I remembered you have your own sweet digs, away from any potentially harmful and cool laboratories.”

“Nat told you I was planning on trying to spend the weekend, eh?” Vision chuckles, carefully setting down Morgan, who begins to run about the house,” You’re lucky I decided to reupholster the carpet last month. Or that I haven’t started remodeling the upstairs bedrooms yet.”

“Do you think you can keep her over for a sleepover? I promise to come and get her by ten tomorrow.”

“Knowing you, I’m sure you mean in the evening.” Vision opens a cupboard, finding an old glass left by the previous owners, filling it with water and setting it on the counter.

“Please, Vis, I’m just asking for one day with my wife.” Vision transfers the flowers to the glass, smiling as the petals shimmer and change to a light amber in the sunlight. He chuckles and looks at Tony.

“Tony, do you realize I’m a synthezoid correct? I don’t even have any food in the house.” Tony smiles wearily to Vision, folding his hand in a prayer getsure. Vision sighs and smiles,” Did you bring her a sleeping bag? If not, you’ll need to hope that old carpet doesn’t have any bedbugs.” Tony smiles, hugging Vision tightly.

“Thank you.” He whispers,” Let her eat whatever she wants, I’ll pay for it later.”

Before Vision can retort, the sound of luggage thudding at the entrance grabs his attention. He walks past Tony, into the lounge, to see Pepper setting down two heavy looking bags and a large inflatable mattress. She smiles sympathetically to Vision, standing up and stretching her back.

“The larger bag has an assortment of her favorite stuffies and games, the smaller has three changes of clothes, a list of emergency contacts, her favorite shampoo and bubble baths, a pair of slippers, a change of running shoes and enough bandages you’d think we robbed a hospital.” Pepper lists quickly in one breath. She smiles to Vision, walking towards him, arms outstretched for a hug,” Thank you for this.” Once Vision is in her embrace she whispers,” I’ll make sure we come to pick her up by ten in the morning.”

Tony scoops Pepper in an embrace, and kisses her on the cheek. Tony quickly turns and gives Vision a hug, without the kiss. He takes Pepper by the hand, saying his goodbyes as he rushes her to the corvette parked out front. Vision watches the pair drive away, happily watching them disappear out of the neighborhood. He closes the door, turning towards the longue, where Morgan stands at the ready. She’s holding the short side of an allen wrench, aiming it at Vision with a grin on her face.

“Pwut ‘em up!” She laughs. Vision puts up his hands with a laugh.

“Oh no, don’t shoot.” 

“Bang, bang!” She giggles as she moves the wrench. Vision clenches his chest, using large exaggerated movements as he walks into the lounge. He grunts and moans, falling to his knees before Morgan.

“Oh, how cruel, how fate had cursed me to perish by the dear Miss Morgan’s hand.” He says as he dramatically falls to the ground, he reaches out towards Morgan,” Oh no! Bleh…” He closes his eyes and puts his head on the ground, acting like a dead body. Morgan giggles and walks over to him, patting him on the head.

“Youwre awake!” She giggles. Vision pops one eye open,quickly sitting up to kneel and grabbing Morgan in a bear hug. She roars with laughter, happily wriggling in his grip.

“Oh thank you, thank you, miss gumdrop! You’ve saved me!” He stands, gently spinning and swinging her back and forth. Vision dances with her in the air to a silent song. Morgan chuckles happily,” Now, what can I give my magnificent savior on this fine day?” 

“Ice cweam!” She shouts.

“Oh, now doesn’t that sound delightful?” Vision chuckles. He scans the web, searching for a nearby ice cream parlor, finding one result near the middle of town. He looks to Morgan with a smile,” It looks like there’s a wonderful place, right nearby.”

Vision holds her closely, carefully supporting her neck and head. He closes the door behind him, and takes in a deep breath. He uses his super speed to quickly make it into town, stopping in a small alley, away from anyone’s curious glances. He looks down to Morgan, who laughs softly as her eyes spin from vertigo. ‘ _ Walk home _ ’ he notes in his head. He gently sets her down, letting her walk out the dizziness. Once she stops wobbling, he takes her hand, and they walk into the town square. Vision looks around and sees the sign ‘ _ Barry’s Frozen Delights! _ ’, the local ice cream shop in Westview.

They walk into the small shop, twelve flavors on display in the case, front and center. On a large black chalkboard behind the counter, there’s a list of different milkshakes and malts and toppings with various price points throughout. The decor around the shop emanates a fifties style soda fountain, blue striped wall paper and shiny red leather bar stools at a hightop bar next to the ice cream display case. Different vinyls and albums are stapled to the walls, while an old jukebox plays  _ Tutti Fruitti  _ by Little Richard, while an older woman carefully cleans a milkshake cup behind the counter. She notices the pair enter, and quickly makes her way behind the ice cream case.

“Howdy hey neighbors.” The woman says with a happy smile,” What can I get ya today?” Vision lifts Morgan into his arms so she can see the array of brightly colored ice creams. 

“Which one looks the yummiest, gumdrop?” He asks, making sure she can see it all. She looks around the case, finally pointing at a bright pink and blue swirled ice cream on the bottom row. “Ah, we’ll take a… cotton candy blitz?” He looks questionably to the woman.

“One scoop or two?” Morgan happily puts up a finger,” And would you like that in a cone or a bowl today?”

“Can we have a bowl?” Vision laughs. The woman nods knowingly, getting to work on scooping. Morgan gleefully snuggles into Vision’s neck, excited for the treat. 

“Haven’t seen ya around here before. Are you new in town?” The woman asks as scoops the ice cream. Morgan moves and squirms to get out of vision’s grasp. He gently lets her down, allowing her to run around and explore the empty shop.

“I’m moving in little by little.” He responds, watching Morgan run around the empty shop.

“Oh, how fun.” She begins to scoop the ice cream into the cone,” Well, as you can see, I’m ‘Barry’. It’s actually Betty, but since my brother didn’t want to take it over, I’m the next in line to hold the prestigious title.” She lets out a small snorting laugh at her joke, carefully patting the side of the ice cream so it won’t drip too far out of the cup. She seemingly glides over to the register at the end of the counter, Vision realizing she has a pair of Heelys on. He chuckles slightly at the fantastical sight. 

“Ah, lovely to meet you.” Vision walks with her to the end of the counter, pulling out his wallet as he walks,” I’m Vision.”

“And the little one?” She asks, typing in the old machine.

“Morgan.” Vision watches the price appear, taking out a ten dollar note in response,” I’m nannying her for the day. She’s my…” Vision stutters for a moment. He doesn’t know the right word to describe his relationship with Tony. Creator and creation? No, that may be accurate but not appropriate in this situation. Coworker? No, they’re closer than that, they’ve built up a unique trust with one another. Ah, that might be the right word,” friend’s daughter. We’re quite close.”

“I can see that.” She hands the cup and the change back to Vision. He gratefully puts the change into the tips jar to the left of the reister. She gives him a warm smile,” We’ll, I hope you two have fun on your day out. It’s a beautiful one today.”

“Thanks, have a great one yourself.” vision finds Morgan, taking her hand and handing her the cup of ice cream. She laughs, taking large licks of the ice cream as they exit,” Let’s head to the park.”

“Park! Park!” Morgan chants, jumping and eating her ice cream as they walk. 

They walk moderately, giving Vision a chance to take in the scenery. In the town centre, there’s a taped off gazebo, it’s paint chipping as the rot becomes exposed, surrounded by picnic tables and benches, where forlorn office workers eat their lunch in the harsh sunlight. Across the way, a row of taller buildings housing what looks to be a variety of different firms and start up businesses. The main draw of the square lies in the movie theater, playing reruns of the classics to try and ease the townspeople's minds. It looks like this month they’re featuring ‘ _ Back to the Future’ _ , Vision laughs at the idea of that ridiculous movie. 

It takes about fifteen minutes of walking from the center of town to reach the large playground belonging to the elementary/middle school of the town, aptly named ‘ _ Westview Primary’ _ . Right next door is the high school, with the same creative naming conventions ‘ _ Westview High’ _ . Morgan looks at the playground aimed at younger kinds and begins to drag Vision along. She chomps on her ice cream, leaning at an almost forty five degree angle to move her temporary guardian faster.

On the playground, there’s five children. Vision does a quick preliminary scan to make sure none of them might have any sort of disease that may spread to Morgan. He finds their ages range, the youngest being three, the oldest being six. He’s slightly hesitant about letting her go, but they all scan as healthy. Still, Morgan is barely two years old, she might get hurt if she plays with kids that much older than her. He instead looks to the swings, where a man is pushing his young son on one of the toddler swings. He lifts Morgan, carefully taking the cup out of her hand, and walks to the other swing, placing her in and placing the cup on the edge of the sand where concrete meets grass.

“Ready to launch, gumdrop?” Vision asks. Morgan squeals in response. Vision interprets it as a yes, and he begins to gently push her. She laughs excitedly, happy to exist in the moment, reaching to try and touch the sky so close in her grasp. Vision smiles fondly at her.

“How old is she?” The larger man next to Vision asks. Vision looks at him, looking at his slightly greying shaggy beard adorning his tanned skin, to his baggy striped polo strip tucked awkwardly into khaki shorts with black strappy sandals. He honestly looks like a stereotypical suburban dad.

“She’s turning two in August.” Vision says with a smile,” How old’s the little champ?”

“Just turned two.” The man laughs, ruffling his cons head once he swings back before pushing,” I’m Marco. You’re…”

“New around here?” Vision finishes,” I’ve been getting that a lot. I’m Vision, I’m slowly moving into a house down on Sherwood. It’s just a little hard.”

“I get it, moving with an infant isn’t easy.” Marco chuckles fondly,” I admire anyone with the patience for that kind of thing.”

“Oh, she’s not my child.” Vision chuckles,” I’m nannying. I’m more talking about adjusting after the whole...incident two years back.”

“Ah…” Marco pauses, losing a little strength on the pushing,” Yeah, yeah that’s made things pretty difficult around here. Everyone lost someone.” Marco looks to Vision and smiles sadly,” But that’s the thing about small towns, we rally in the face of that kind of adversity. It was rough the first year, we had a mass exodus. Went from almost four thousand to barely fifteen hundred. A lot of people couldn’t really stand living in a house without loved one’s and packed up, not that I can blame them. I was damn close to doing the same.”

“Oh, did you..?” Vision can’t really bring himself to ask a full question, afraid he might make the man uncomfortable. Marco looks to Vision with a look of slight amusement. He lets out a small chuckle, pushing his son a little higher.

“It’s alright, I’m actually getting better at talking about it.” Marco smiles,” I enjoy talking about him.” He looks to Vision with a beaming smile,” His name was Anthony. He worked at the mill on the outside of town, a real foreman among foremen. I got the call two days after the initial occurrence, almost all of the plant dusted away in an instant. The place almost blew up, but thankfully just enough people could handle the chaos. I was devastated, absolutely heartbroken. He was my soul mate.” Marco shifts his foot around in the sand,” We were barely two years into our mortgage. I was on the verge of a panic attack twenty four seven for a good long while there. A lot of dark thoughts.”

“I’m...I’m so sorry for your loss.” Vision hesitantly pushes Morgan a little higher, matching Marco’s absentminded pushing as he reminisces,” I can’t imagine how you stayed.”

“Isn’t that the big question.” He laughs, slightly incenserly,” Like I said, got damn close. But then I got the papers back for little Antonio here. I think the state was panicking about the volume of new orphans they needed to process, so they started approving everyone with qualifications. We’d applied the year prior and were waiting for any opportunity.” Marco stops the swing with his hands, holding his sons and blowing a raspberry on his head before swinging him more,” I was scared shitless when I got those papers. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for a kid in such a shocked state. But...i don’t know it kinda felt like a twist in my destiny. Like, how bad would this kid have it if I didn’t take him in? I had the money, certainly had the space, I just needed the courage to take the leap. Then I felt him. I felt Anthony telling me to do it, to live our dream and thrive through the sadness.” Vision looks at Marco. He smiles, but he can see the tears forming in his eyes.

“You’re strong, Marco.” Vision says with a soft and kind tone.

“Nah, this isn’t strength.” Marco sighs out,” Strength is the people who lost everything yet persisted in making sure this town kept running. The mayor is the pillar we’ve been relying on. She’s organized an honestly insane amount of support groups for various groups around town, created a weekly potluck program for the various neighborhoods, and made sure that payment for teachers and essential workers didn’t go down during that uncertain financial crisis. She lost everyone, her husband, her mom, even her dogs. But she smiled, and extended a hand to all of us. She really showed us that life keeps going on even when we think it’s all over.”

“Huh, I, uh, I didn’t hear about any of that. There wasn’t really any news on that.” Vision scans through the news articles from around the blip, not recognizing any signs of that pure vitality, instead only seeing the doom and gloom once more. He shakes his head to stop it.

“Well, we had to shut down all local news for a long time.” Marco sighs,” It was mostly a flyer and word of mouth type of thing. I’m sure if you go to any small town, you’ll get similar stories. What friends I could contact told me about their similar experiences. Maybe not the mayor, but a religious figure in the community, the head of a PTA, I have one friend who told me about a boy scout troop leader who brought a small Wyoming community together through different team building exercises he learned as a scout.” Vision looks to the sky in wonder, smiling at the thought of people working easily together and helping wherever anyone needs help, all on their own.

“Humans are amazing.” He chuckles.

“That’s one way to put it.” Marco heartily laughs, he stops the swing and picks up little Antonio,” Anyways, it's nice to hear people are moving in again. If you’re interested, I attend the eight o’clock support groups on thursdays. There’s also a lot of community outreach if you ever need help with food or large projects. There’re fliers at the community center…” He shifts Antonio and points to a large building across the street ‘ _ Community Center/Public Library’ _ ,” I hope you enjoy Westview!”

“It’s been nice meeting you, Marco.” Vision says with a smile.

“I’m over on Voyager Road, stop by for some drinks, and you can tell me your life story.” Marco chuckles,” Hope to see ya at the group.”

Marco walks off, talking lovingly to Antonio in a sweet tone. Vision smirks, happy to realize there’s a lot he didn’t really know, despite being an all-knowing machine. Morgan let’s out a grunt. Vision stops the swing quickly, scanning her to see what’s wrong. She has to go to the bathroom. He looks around, trying to find a public bathroom. He makes out the closest one would be the community center. He times the potential time it would take if he runs or walks at a moderate place to the house. It would take twenty minutes at most, ten at least. He shrugs and decides it’s better safe than sorry.

He scoops up Morgan, skillfully bending down to pick up the semi melted ice cream. He runs across the small patch of grass, then looks around to make sure the road’s safe. He makes it through the doors and into the bathroom fast enough to get Morgan where she needs to be. 

Once they're done washing their hands, Vision lifts Morgan, readying to go home. They’re about to leave when he notices the bulletin board. He looks at all the flyers, marking the information in his internal calendar. If he’s going to live here, he might as well try doing as the townsfolk do. 

Morgan happily finishes her ice cream as she sings a nonsensical song on the way home. Vision can’t find any form of pattern to her words or musical patterns, so he just watches her hop and dance. It takes almost twenty minutes, just like he predicted, to get home. Before they go inside, Vision walks over to the car he brought. He takes out the TV and TV stand he had brought from Wanda’s room. He was going to put them up tomorrow or maybe even Sunday, but with a hyperactive child he might need it now more than ever. He also spots the box set of the Dick Van Dyke show. He feels a twinge in his chest, but breaths in, shuffling the load around, to get a good grip on it.

Morgan opens the door for Vision. He thanks her politely, before moving at intense speeds to set up the TV and stand in a matter of seconds. He then goes back to the car, realizing he forgot the dvd player in the back seat, setting that up before Morgan can even get one foot into the lounge. He puts in the first season DVD of the set, allowing it to play in the background. 

The two play a variety of games, dressing up and singing and dancing until the sun sets. When Morgan begins to get hungry, she whines. Vision puts her in front of the TV and runs to the store, buying easy to eat meals for her and coming back within minutes. She barely noticed he left. He carefully makes her meal while she watches the TV, laughing right alone with the audience through the episodes. When she’s finished eating, he makes her a bath, carefully monitoring the temperature of the water, and playing with all her little bath toys for around twenty minutes with her. 

It’s finally time for bed, Morgan’s all dressed in her jammies, holding her favorite stuffed rabbit, Mr. Snugglebutt. Vision inflates the mattress in one of the spare rooms while walking Morgan through brushing her teeth. Once they’ve maintained her dental hygiene, they do a little dance into the bare bedroom. Vision fishes out her blanket, preparing her to sleep. He beacons her to get into bed, but her stare is fixed to the sky. Vision walks to her side, looking to the sky with her, not seeing anything but a few scattered stars. Morgan points to the sky.

“Watz dat?” She asks.

“Stars, gumdrop.” He responds quietly.

“Huh…” Her half hearted response alerts Vision slightly. He tries to analyse her stare, wondering if he hadn't provided a good answer. Her stare is wistful and mesmerized. Vision gets an idea.

“Gumdrop.” Morgan looks to him in response to her nickname,” Would you like to see even more stars?” She gasps happily, her eyes lighting up in excitement. 

Vision wraps the blanket around her, picking her up and walking downstairs and out to the backyard. He looks around to make sure any neighbors lights are off. He sees the coast is clear, dropping his camo, revealing his red skin under the light of the half moon. He gently begins floating in the air, Morgan gripping his shust and neck tightly. Vision embraces her carefully, slowly floating higher and higher into the air. Once he’s about two hundred feet up, he moves forwards, still making sure to have a steady grasp of the toddler in his arms. He flys over the dark suburbs of Westview, eventually crossing Ellis Avenue into the surrounding farmland. 

Once he reaches a field far from any artificial light source, he lands and sets Morgan down. She looks around hesitantly. Vision points to the sky, Morgan’s eyes follow. Her expression can only be described as the physical incarnation of pure wanderlust. Her eyes widen at the sheer amount of stars sparkling in the sky, all flowing and cooperating in a glorious harmony above her. She doesn’t say anything, just takes in the awesome view. Vision sits next to her, pointing out different constellations, planets and named stars. She listens in amazement, coming up with her own constellations, all of which Vision records to his permanent memory. 

They’re outside for a long time, until Morgan sneezes. She wobbles slightly, tired from the fun day. Vision gently picks her up, flying slowly to the house. Morgan falls asleep in his arms, cuddling in close to him. He activates warmers in his chest to make the trip more comfortable. When he reaches the house, he walks carefully, as to not disturb her, gently placing her on the mattress, lighting a small nightlight, and exiting the room with a soft,” Goodnight.”

He floats down the stairs, into the lounge, where the TV still plays. By this point episode fourteen plays, halfway complete. Vision looks at the TV fondly, he turns down the volume, sitting in front of the set, picking up the shelf he’d abandoned earlier. He laughs at the jokes softly, carefully piecing the shelf together in silence. By the end of the night, the self stands proudly next to the TV, the Dick Van Dyke show box set the only thing on it. He smiles at the fruits of his labor.

He hears a rustling upstairs, quickly going up and helping the young Stark get ready for the day. They spend the morning picking up toys, deflating the mattress, and making a pretty ridiculous amount of chocolate chip pancakes. Around nine fifty, the doorbell rings, Morgan happily rushing to open it with Vision. Pepper and Tony under the entrance, Pepper beaming at the sight of Morgan, Tony obviously hungover. Vision laughs, inviting them in for pancakes, which Tony happily accepts. The couple recount their date to Vision, Vision and Morgan happy to tell about the fun time they had together.

“You really like Uncle Vision, doncha Morgana?” Tony says with a laugh, shoving half a pancake in his mouth.

“Morgan wuvs Uwncle Vision!” She excitedly yells. Tony looks to Vision and smirks, Pepper looks at Vision with a grateful and thankful smile. Vision looks touched and happy at the sentiment, scooping Morgan into a big ol’ bear hug.

“We may have to rely on you for babysitting when we’re on this side of the US.” Pepper laughs, taking a bite out a semi-burnt pancake with a chocolate chip smiley face on it.

“It would be my pleasure.” Vision laughs,” I just request a little more than a five minutes notice next time. I’ll have a proper room set up next time.”

“Five...five minutes?” Pepper gives a horrified look to Tony,” You said he agreed two weeks ago.” Tony looks like a deer in headlights. Vision and Morgan laugh through the small couple squabble. 

Once the pancakes are gone, or at least in a plastic bag for the road, Pepper and Morgan take her bags to the car, not the same corvette Tony had come in yesterday. Vision stands in the entrance, watching Morgan drag her bag with all her heart, refusing help from Pepper. Tony comes up behind him and pats Vision on the shoulder.

“I truly appreciate this Vision.” He says with a sincere smile. 

Tony looks at Vision, his expression softer than when he was in the compound. He looks at least a little at peace, a little content, even a little happy. Tony feels proud, so proud of what Vision’s become. From being little more than an emotionless husk he and Ultron brought into existence, to so close to human. The camo he uses can fool even the most keen eyed person.

“Vision.” Tony lets out a sigh,” I’m in the process of building a cabin up in Upper New York. Not really near the compound, but still decently away from people. If you want, you can come visit whenever.” Vision looks to Tony, the offer genuine and sincere. He smiles.

“Thanks Tony.” He looks to Morgan,” I think that’d be nice. I’m always happy to visit the little niece.”

“Wouldn’t she be more like a sister?” Tony chuckles,” You’re kind of my son, when you think about it. Well, me, Banner, Ultron and a little bit of Thor.”

“Well aren’t I lucky.” Vision laughs,” Have a safe trip home Tony.”

“Have fun building yours, Vis.” Tony walks out the door, lifting Morgan and her bag into the carseat in the compact car. 

Vision watches them once more disappear out of the neighborhood. Once they’re completely gone, he closes the door behind him, locking it. He looks to the small mess in the kitchen, then to the TV. He smiles to himself, shifting back to his original form. He sits in the lawnchair, picking up the TV remote. He clicks through a couple options on the menu of the dvd, before landing on his choice.

‘ _ Season two, episode twenty-one: It May Look Like a Walnut’ _


	9. The Sokovian Supers

February 10th, 2021. Vision walks the streets of Novi Grad before dawn, slowly taking in the sights. He watches a construction crew begin their day, rebuilding the old church at the center of the patched up city. You wouldn’t even realize it was the city that fell from the sky, with buildings having been replaced for towers with more sturdy foundations and roads that connect as though they were never severed. It’s comforting to see the small capitol rebuild from such utter devastation. 

He carefully twirls a small bouquet in his hands. A bundle of red roses, with white framing on the edges of the petals. He saunters in the crisp morning air, trying to mentally prepare himself for the rest of the day, until he reaches a large black iron gate guarding the front of a synagogue. He slowly creaks it open, walking carefully around the temple to a relatively large graveyard. It’s around the size of a city block, not intensely large, but a strange sight to see in a capital city. He tries to maintain a forced small smile, while walking past the restored graves, reading the names and dates on every tombstone as he passes. 

He finally reaches his destination, far back in the field, almost tucked away neatly in the corner. He sighs, kneeling in front of the wide tombstone. A real family unit, Olek and Irena taking the top half of the stone, dedicating their legacy as the loving parents, Pietro and Wanda beneath as their loving children. Vision shudders and stifles harsh breaths as he carefully places the roses to the side of a small extended stone plate in front of the grave, neatly fluffing the petals to present them in full bloom. He reaches into the front pocket of his coat, taking out a Yahrzeit candle, setting it on the platform. He pats his pockets for a lighter, when a small click stops him. A gentle flame from an old silver zippo passes by Vision’s sight, lighting the candle. A bouquet of white roses with red framing gets gently placed adjacent to Vision’s bouquet. Vision smiles, looking to the figure beside him. His large dark coat carefully covers the litany of concealed weapons on his person, while his head is covered by a black beanie, making his face only visible from a direct front view.

“It’s been a while.” He sighs, looking up to the stoic face of his old friend. He looks towards Vision, cracking a sad smile, offering a hand to help Vision up. Vision accepts, dusting off his pants once he’s standing. The two look towards the grave, softly illuminated by the dawning sun and light flickering of the candle. Vision embraces him in a small side hug.

“It’s still hard to believe I lost both of them within four years of each other.” Clint doesn’t shirk away from the hug, but doesn’t necessarily accept it,” It’s just another tally on the ever growing list of failures of my life, I guess.” He pulls out a small silver flask, worn and weathered,” Sometimes I think it should’ve been me that died in Sokovia.”

“Don’t say that, Clint.” Vision reassuringly squeezes him,” How upset do you think he’d be if he heard you say that?” Clint lets out a soft chuckle. Vision still has a bit of difficulty helping others actively through their own forms of grieving. He lets out a sigh, releasing Clint. “Now, shall we get going?”

“A rousing day of grief fueled drinking?” Clint laughs, Vision giving him a worried look. Clint clears his throat, a bad joke that didn’t land,”Yeah, yeah of course we should get going. If we stay any longer I might become a blubbering mess.”

The two give one last look to the stone, before turning and walking out of the area. Careful not to make too much noise, they banter about the weather, the way this winter has compared to others, just casual small topics, until they reach a small tavern, it’s neon sign still glowing with the Sokovian word for ‘Open’. Clint opens the door, ushering Vision in, who thanks him with a small nod. 

The bar tender shouts a sokovian greeting to the two, which they shout back in unison. They sit at a high top table near the back of the bar. Other than a man passed out near the entrance, the bar is empty. Within a minute, the bartender arrives, pad of paper and pen in hand.

“A large stout of whatever dark ale ya got.” Clint says in flawless sokovian. The bartender nods and looks to Vision. Clint begins to try to stop the man, but Vision stops him.

“The same, please.” Vision says in Sokovian. The bartender nods, making a quick jot on his notepad, before heading over to the bar. Clint laughs and looks at Vision questiongly. Vision reaches into his jacket pocket, taking a little metal tin out. He opens it, popping two small white cubes into his mouth. Clint looks even more amused.

“I don’t know how gums gonna help you drink something you’re physically incapable of ingesting.” Clint teases, waiting for whatever strange reason he has. Vision smiles, chewing quickly, before opening his mouth wide. At the back of his mouth is a white wall, just covering the area where the esophagus should be. He then gives a big dopey grin.

“A special form of myocilin I’ve been creating to simulate the experience of drinking in a social setting.” Vision proudly states,” Very absorbent. It can hold up to a gallon of liquid per cube. I’m really rather proud of it.” He pulls out another cube, setting it on the table for Clint to observe. Clint picks it up, fiddling with it in his hands. It feels spongy, like a fresh piece of gum out of a just opened pack. 

“Smart.” Clint chuckles. The bartender approaches with their drinks. The two utter their thanks, before clinking their glasses together in a cheers. They down the ales simultaneously, clanking them loudly onto the table when they finish. Clint looks at the glasses, then at the table. He lets out a sigh, waving for another round. One won’t be enough to face the day.

“Thirty two, huh?” Vision sighs absentmindedly. Clint grits his teeth slightly, still slightly unprepared to actually start this discussion. 

“It doesn’t matter, they were still kids to me. Kids taken before their prime.” The drinks come, Clint takes a large swig of his, staring into the remaining dark brown liquid when he comes up for air. He takes in a deep breath. Exhaling a shaking breath.

“That’s true.” Vision dryly chuckles, sipping the ale,” But today isn’t for mourning, we’re celebrating their lives.” Vision carefully observes Clint, monitoring his stress levels, getting a general read on how he’s feeling. It’s been a long time since they’ve been in the same room, Vision doesn’t want to ruin it by saying the wrong things.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just hard to try and remember those happy times without getting depressed.” Clint takes another large gulp,” But that’s why you made sure we met in Sokovia this year. They’re doing that thing, right? What was it again?”

“The Festival of Red and White.” Vision looks towards the small tv, playing an early morning news show,” The new national holiday of Sokovia. I wanted to make sure that you and I were at least present to see it’s birth.” Vision digs into his pocket, pulling out the last item inside. A small black velvet drawstring bag. He takes a quick breath, nervously clutching it in his palm.” I hear it’s going to be another gift giving holiday. Like hanukkah or christmas. That being said. I thought I’d give you a Red and White gift.”

“You know I can’t accept it, I didn’t get you anything.” Clint laughs, gently hitting Vision in the shoulder. Vision smiles weakly in response.

Vision places the bag on the table, sliding it across the table smoothly. He leans back, expectantly waiting for Clint to open it. Clint looks between the package and Vision, suspicion in his eyes, before smiling and dryly chuckling, picking it up. The loose knot falls apart with a small tug, and the bag opens in his hand. He reaches inside and pulls out a bracelet. A thin black leather cord secures what looks like a frosted glass bead, with small swirls of red energy pulsing around it rhythmically. Clint looks to Vision, eyes full of shock and questions he can’t seem to verbalize. Vision slides up his sleeve, revealing an identical bracelet on his wrist.

“Nat and Steve got me this as a holiday present. It was scary to give them my prized possession, but I decided to trust them. In the end, there was enough material to create two of these, and I couldn’t think of a better person to give the second one to than you.” Vision watches the tears form in Clint’s eyes. Clint tries to blink them away, carefully putting the bracelet back into the bag and tucking it snugly into the interior of his jacket. He sniffs, rubbing his eyes, and knocks back the rest of his drink,” I thought you’d like a memento of your ‘adopted sister’.” Clint lets out a sound like a mix of a laugh and small sob. 

“Where’d you even?”

“Wakanda, right after the blip.” Vision takes a long gulp of his drink. He turns the glass in his fingers, remembering the day. He shakes off the thought,” I’ve kept the larger chunk on me for almost three years. It gave me some semblance of inner peace, imagining her magic was her spirit accompanying me silently. Now it’s like she’s constantly going to hold my hand, as long as I have this thing on.”

“No need to get sentimental, Shakespear.” Clint laughs. He watches Vision carefully touch the glass bead, seeing the synth’s eyes soften as a small smile finds its way onto his face.”Thanks.” It’s the only word the two of them need to hear. This day wasn’t really about the conversation, it’s about being there for each other. The two sit in the stiff silence of the bar, Vision takes small sips of the ale, while Clint orders yet another ale. 

They watch the small TV behind the bar, the news anchor happily informing the public of the exciting events of the day. She ends her segment with a reminder, the gates will open at eight o’clock sharp. Vision checks his internal clock, quarter after seven. He looks to Clint and smiles. Clint smiles back.

“So, how’re things back in the states?” Clint asks, blankly staring at the tv, his mind somewhere else entirely.

“Well, I’ve got a lovely little house in New Jersey. I find that recently, I’m spending more time there than the Avenger’s compound.” Vision pauses, looking down to his glass and taking in a small breath. He knows the conversation will eventually lead here, an unwelcome topic, but he has to know. ”She’s worried about you.” Vision can see Clint flinching in his peripheral,” She asks about you during the weekly debriefings, hoping you’re ok.” He looks to Clint, a small tremble in his shoulders,” She just wants to know if you’re safe.”

“She should mind her own business.” Clint leans back in his chair, crossing his arms and bouncing his knee slightly. “I heard she’s, what? Director of the Avenger’s now? Heard she even landed a pretty big contract with the UN to pardon all present and past members of perceived crimes up until the blip.” Clint rubs his eyes and the bridge of his nose, sighing slightly,” ‘ _ Let the history books remember our heroes as heroes, not criminals’ _ , that was the straw that broke their backs, right? She always had a way with words.”

“She misses her best friend.” Vision sips the last of his drink,” But that’s all I’ll say on that.” Clint looks to Vision, a slight confusion in his brow,” With your permission, I’ll tell her you're healthy and leave it at that. I’m rather curious to know about your adventures. You dropped off the grid a year and a half ago, dead air no matter which way anyone reached out. I wasn’t even sure you’d get my message to meet today, I sort of just threw a message to the wind, hoping the right person would find it.” Clint looks warily to Vision, carefully leaning forwards in his chair. He takes a moment, thinking of what to say.

“Well, I felt empty once I lost Laura and the kids. When my FBI agent released me, I abandoned the farm, and went to find work. I went back to being a mercenary, taking any job that could keep me busy, keep me moving. I didn’t want anyone I might’ve been close with to know where I was, I didn’t want to get pulled back into reality.” Clint plays with the glass on the table, spinning it slightly and watching the light dance off the rim,” It didn’t work. I knew it wouldn’t, but I got in too deep. I saw the scum of the earth wasn’t exactly affected by the blip in any way that matters. I got mad, so mad that the people whose favorite color is fresh crimson got to live, while my precious people had to die.” Clint makes stern eye contact with Vision,” So I’ve started the steps to take justice into my own hands. I mean, I once was regarded as a hero, why did that have to stop because of some freaky space freak?”

“I see.” Vision can only stare at Barton sympathetically. In a strange way he can relate. If he wasn’t forced to stay at the compound for a year, maybe he would’ve done the same. It  **isn’t** fair that so many war-mongers, terrorists, gangs and other bad blooded thugs lived, when the people who least deserve it were killed. But he still can’t find it in himself to forgive Clint’s actions.Vision guesses it’s the pesky ‘Iron Legion’ protocol, but he doesn’t dwell on it.

“If you’re going to try to stop me, it’s no use.”

“I already knew that.” Vision chuckles. He checks the time, seven forty. “I don’t mean to imply that I came here to do that.. I’m not here to judge your life choices. I am simply here to enjoy the festival, to celebrate the twins with someone I know treasured them like a family member.” Vision pulls out a bill from his wallet, waving the bartender over. Clint laughs.

“I already knew that.” Clint responds, semi-mocking. He rises from the table. Vision gives the money to the bartender,” I wouldn’t have come if I thought you’d try to turn me in.” Vision smiles, relieved at the feeling of mutual trust between them.

The two walk out of the bar, the sun now lifted into the sky over the horizon, lighting up the cool city fog. They walk together leisurely through the streets, watching the populace awaken to the new day. They joke about the ultron bots they battled in the various alleys they pass, both claiming to have dispatched more than the other. 

They finally arrive at their destination. A newly built portion of the city called ‘New Maxim Cross’, housing freshly built apartments and large self sustaining buildings with a more modern style than the rest of the city. Tony had helped to secure enough funds to build it up, using the excuse of trying to create the world's first self-powered metropolis. Many of said funds went towards the repair of the large scale destruction of the city, only a small portion focused on this three block stretch of city. The buildings have the slick chrome feel of Stark industries, clashing horribly with the nearby eastern european buildings. Clint and Vision can’t help but laugh at the dichotomy.

The farther they walk into New Maxim, the louder the sounds of celebration ring out. Once they pass into the second block of New Maxim, they see the city park. It’s packed with many different attractions. A few carnival rides sit on the outskirts of the celebration, a line of different food vendors sit near the entrance, and various vendors and games lie scattered within the area. Every booth has a mixture of whites, silvers, reds and blacks. The striking centerpiece of the celebration is a large stone statue immortalizing Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. Pietro has a sly grin, posed as though he’s mid sprint, ready to save anyone at a moment's notice. Wanda has a more elegant look to her, a kind smile as she hovers behind Pietro, hands filled with red flames to symbolize her powers. 

The pair enter the grounds, walking to get a better look at the large statues. As they walk, they notice that many children are dressed up as the center heroes. Boys run around and laugh, white hair spray adoring their heads. Girls pretend to shoot each other with magical bolts of energy with streaks of orange hair spray over their mostly brunette hair. Some kids dress up as other avengers, some boys paint their faces green, coloring their hair yellow like thor, and even wielding trash can lids painted to look like Captain America’s shield. Clint notices a little girl, her face painted red with a golden dot in her forehead, she plays with a variety of children, pretending to fly and shoot a laser from her head. He chuckles fondly.

Vision gently nudges Clint, alerting him to a heart warming sight. The boy Clint had been helping when Pietro saved him, stands on a table, surrounded by his friends. He wears a fully black outfit, a toy bow in his hand and small fake quiver on his back .He also has the white topped hair, a dedication to the two heroes who saved him from the falling city. 

Clint just stops where he is, staring at the boy. Healthy and alive, happily laughing and celebrating. He can’t stop the tears this time. They fall silently on his cheeks. Vision waits for Clint to make the first move forwards, not wanting to rush his friend. After a minute, Clint reaches up, wiping his tears and chuckling slightly. They look at each other, sharing a moment of content peace. 

They walk to the centerpiece, noticing the large plaques surrounding the statue. A whole history surrounding the twins, how they grew up orphaned at age ten, their great want for a change to the common wars experienced in the poor nation, their drive to change the world through a S.H.I.E.L.D volunteer program. It then goes into the different powers of the twins, explaining the small acts of heroism they performed for the people, even before the Avengers caught wind of them from Strucker’s experiments. Through the eyes of the Sokovians, the twins were the heroes they had always needed. Earning them the title of the ‘Sokovian Supers’. 

“Did you know, Pietro once evacuated a whole apartment building in minutes when a rogue airstrike missed its mark?” Vision points to Pietro’s timeline,” Fifty eight people were saved. Amazing.”

“Wanda stopped a firefight near an elementary school on the outskirts of the city.” Clint touches the plaque,” I guess she’s always been stupidly strong.”

The two continue around the timelines, pointing out obvious information to the other. They revel in the new information, making small jokes they think the twins would make in certain events. They both try miming out different events, making the other guess before sharing the event. Vision feels a comfortable warmth in his chest, so proud of the sides of Wanda he never knew about before. She wasn’t one to talk about the past often, and he could see why. Almost all of these heroics were done by the pair, together. 

Once they’ve gone through the memoriams, they look around the festival a bit more, looking through the small stalls of props and trinkets. Vision finds a red hairpiece, it looks like a large ‘M’. He supposes it’s to frame the face of whoever wears it. He holds it curiously in his hand.

“A traditional Sokovian fortune teller’s headpiece.” The older woman manning the stand says with a chipper tone,” Only fifteen dollars.”

Vision looks to the headpiece, then to the woman. If anything, it’ll be a nice souvenir. He pulls out his wallet and hands her a twenty. She reaches for change, Vision holding up his hand to stop her.

“You can keep the change.” He says with a smile. The woman frowns slightly, scanning her counter for anything. Her eyes light up and she smirks. She grabs a hair clip from the opposite end of the table. It’s a silver lightning bolt, carefully outlined with a baby blue paint. It shimmers brilliantly in the direct sunlight. She hands it over to Vision.

“It’s bad luck to separate white from red.” she says with a sly giggle. Vision looks to the trinket. He smiles fondly, thanking her for the gift. He tucks the two items away into his pockets.

They continue to walk around, observing the different games. ‘ _ Knock down Ultron’ _ , where you throw red baseballs at small robot cutouts that pop up over a wooden city. ‘ _ Catch the Speedster’ _ , small figures of Pietro race around a track, you have to successfully throw a ring around one to win. There’s also some standard Carnival games such as a milk jug toss, dart throwing, ping pong ball tossing, etc. Some of the larger prizes are teddy bear versions of the Avengers and the Maximoffs, along with other popular cartoon characters. 

They buy and eat various snacks as they watch the children laugh and act out some of the avengers biggest battles. They spend hours reminiscing, telling small mundane stories that have aged with time. Soon vision checks the time, two thirty. He sighs to himself, taking in the sight of the festival. He smiles gently, happy and content. 

“There’s going to be a small banquet back in New York.” Visions says, still staring at Wanda’s statue,” It’s a late invitation.”

“I appreciate it, but I can’t.” Clint sighs, taking a small bite out a hot pretzel in his hands.

“Then, at least let me leave you with this.” Vision takes a napkin and nearby pen, quickly jotting down his new address and private phone number.” If you ever need a safehouse, just know my door’s always unlocked for you. The number is also my own private line, safeguarded and untraceable. If you ever need help…”

Clint smiles at the small piece of paper. He crumples it up, stuffing it into his pocket. He gives an amused look at Vision, stuffing the remnants of his pretzel into his mouth. He extends his hand to Vision, a silent promise. Vision smiles, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. They share one last knowing nod. 

Vision walks away from the celebration, taking to the air in a secluded alley. He phases the contents of his coat into his body, transforming to his true form. He starts his flight to New York, keeping an eye on the red flames of the park, happily watching them fade into the horizon.

“Happy birthday, my love.”


	10. Similar Friends and Pleasant Memories

“Pardon?” Vision glares at the cluster of people standing at his front door. The words still fail to process in his head. The older man in the center of the group, clears his throat and stares coldly at Vision.

“I said,’ We’re here to collect the sentient weapon at this location, known as The Vision, as the official property of S.W.O.R.D’.” the man’s eyes narrow,” Is that better?” Vision lets out an exasperated breath and grits his teeth. The audacity of this complete stranger is astounding. 

“I’m sorry, sir, but I have no recollection of becoming ‘property’ to any such organization.” Vision almost hisses out,” I am legally an Avenger and shall be treated with respect and authority that comes with the title. I don’t know under whose authority you came here, but you need an official statement from the Avengers director and the Board of Directors in order to even get an  **attempt** to request a service from me.”

Vision hears the sound of guns cocking, trying to keep his anger under control he takes a controlled breath. The man smirks, extending his open palm besides him and receiving a paper from one of his accomplices behind him. The man’s shit eating grin just begins to further piss off Vision. Vision activates his emergency distress beacon, allowing his left eye to begin a broadcast. He can feel the call being answer almost immediately.

“According to this official documentation from the United States Congress  **and** Senate, S.W.O.R.D has the legal access, nay, the legal obligation to procure all known sentient weapons within the United States.” Vision is handed the folded piece of paper. He unfolds it, carefully reading the official declaration on the page. Vision sighs, doing his best to not crumple the note in a tense grip.

“I am not a sentient weapon, sir…?”

“Director Tyler Hayward of S.W.O.R.D.” He extends his hand for a handshake, Vision refuses it coldly.

“Hayward.” Vision almost spits out the name,” I am a synthezoid created to aid the Avengers through varied remote functions, the last of which is the participation in any form of combat. I am not registered to any single nation, instead controlled under the name of the Avengers, who act directly under the United Nations. I would say the world takes precedence over the United States.” Vision refolds the paper, dropping it at Hayward’s feet. Hayward chuckles lightly, picking up the paper and dusting it off.

“Since you: A) reside on American soil, B) been used previously as a weapon, and C) exhibit an honestly outstanding amount of independent cognition, I would say that you are the very definition of a sentient weapon we’re supposed to procure.” Hayward chuckles dryly, raising his hand slightly. The group with him raises a variety of different guns, aimed directly at Vision,” Now we have the option to do this easily or we can make this hurt. Which do you…” He’s interrupted by the ringtone of his cellphone. Everyone pauses.

Hayward smiles a fake smile, taking out the phone from his pocket. An unknown number reads on his screen. He swipes to ignore the call, the same numbers pop up near instantaneously. Haywards lets out an annoyed sigh, clicking the receive button. Before he can talk, he’s shushed loudly.

“Director Hayward, it’s a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance.” Natasha says in a stern and formal tone through the phone’s speaker,” It appears as if you’re giving some grief to a precious member of my team.” Hayward gives a disgusted look to Vision,” As my dear team mate has informed you, legally every Avenger is an asset belonging to the United Nations under the approval of the Amended Sokovia Accords. For the United States to try and claim The Vision, directly violates many of the rigorous and specific rules laid out in the Accords. And, in the case of the accords being violated, the direct country associated with the UN will lose their place in the council and risk the potential of a greater global conflict with the rest of the residing Nations. Do you want to be responsible for causing World War Three during these pressing times, director?” Natasha doesn’t give Hayward a moment to speak in between her fast paced bullet points. He stands, mouth slightly agape, trying to figure out what to say.

“Director Romanoff…” Hayward tries to start, but he’s violently silenced once more.

“That is a yes or no question, director.” Natasha’s words drip with a venom,” Depending on your answer, I feel I should inform you one of our elite squadrons is currently headed towards your position to aid our dear ally. They’ll be on the doorstep within the hour, and I know Vision can hold his own for that long.” The silence is deafening between the group, silently listening to the tense conversation,” Now, say your next words very carefully. Are you going to start World War three today?” Hayward clenches his fist. Lifting up his arm quickly, forcing the others to put down their weapons.

“It appears as though I’ve made a mistake, Director.” Hayward says with forced respect,” We will leave the subject alone for the time being. Apologies for wasting your time and resources for such a... **trivial** matter. Have a great day.”

He angrily hangs up the phone, shoving it into his lackey’s arms. He glares towards Vision, before scanning around the quiet neighborhood, and smiling slyly. He turns to face Vision, eyes full of contempt and child-like selfishness. He takes a deep breath, waving his team away. Hayward extends the papers to Vision, who smirks coldly.

“Keep them.” He coldly glares into Vision’s eyes,” It’s quite,  _ quiet _ in the suburbs, wouldn’t you say?” He turns dramatically to begin walking away, pausing at the step of the front porch,” I’ll be seeing you, Vision. Whether you like it or not.”

As he exits the property, slamming the brown gate behind him, Vision angrily lets out a breath. He closes his door, locking it and resting his forehead over the peephole. He feels the connection of his broadcast is still live.

“Thanks, Nat.” He hisses out,” I just...I don’t...I’m not...”

“We were ready to wreck his shit at your signal.” Rocket laughs, happily eating a packet of gushers on Vision’s new orange sofa. Nebula stands with a blaster trained at the door, her finger almost completely pressed on the trigger.

“Uh…” She quickly sheaths her weapon, sitting next to Rocket pretending to watch TV,” That guy was certainly a nuisance.” Vision smiles warmly to the companions. 

In the four years since they’ve met, the trio has formed an unlikely bond together. The Guardians come to visit earth about once every two months, staying for around a week at a time. During these stays, Vision has spent ample amounts of time conversing and hanging out with the pair. He feels a sympathetic relationship with them, relating to her struggle of being not quite organic, but not fully robotic, but something unique in their entirety. 

Once Vision had fully moved into his home, Rocket and Nebula teased him about how they didn’t even get a chance to decorate their new rooms. Vision compromised by letting them take him to Target to get some fun decor to put around the house. Now, along with the seventies decor Vision has meticulously collected, Vision has a few giant yellow peep pillows around the house and a stuffed pink triceratops head mounted above the fireplace. 

Vision severs the connection from Nat, walking into the lounge. Rocket throws gushers into the air, trying to catch them in his mouth as they fall. Nebula catches one mid air and stuffs it in her mouth before Rocket can protest. Rocket gasps and dramatically reaches up to tap her cheeks, weakly trying to get her to spit the fruit snack out. Vision chuckles, sitting in one of the orange armchairs and grabbing the remote from the coffee table.

“I was gonna eat that.” Rocket whines. Vision starts over the Futurama episode he had been so rudely taken from. Rocket gasps,” I was watching that!”

Rocket jumps off the sofa, grumbling about the lack of respect he gets, as he walks to the kitchen. He opens the pantry, scanning it’s contents as if they’d changed from twenty minutes ago. He scans, happily grinning when he spots the pop tarts box on the third shelf. He has to climb on the first shelf to reach it, but he eagerly takes out a silver packet, quickly running back into the lounge once it’s secured. He jumps on the couch, lying down and resting his head on Nebula’s lap. He opens the packet, and Nebula quickly takes out one of the poptarts and begins munching on it. Rocket has a betrayed look on his face. Nebula looks at him.

“Pillow tax.” She takes a large chunk out of the poptart, focusing once more on the TV.

Vision looks at the pair, excited to finally have them around again. They hadn’t visited in three months. But, the deeply disturbed feeling he’s been feeling ever since Hayward said ‘sentient weapon’ can’t seem to go away. 

It’s technically an accurate description, ‘Sentient Weapon’, but it feels too hollow, too lifeless for him to accept as  _ his  _ description. It may have been the case when he was first created, even as recently as five years ago, but now he feels as though his sentience has made him more human than weapon. Nebula notices Vision’s sudden shift to red, as he seems to focus intensely on the carpet in front of the TV. She gently pats Rocket to turn his attention to Vision. She knows Vision needs to be comforted, but comforting is far from her strong suit. Rocket looks over to Vision, sighing softly. 

“Hey, bud.” Rocket leaves the poptarts on Nebula’s lap, jumping off the couch and carefully approaching Vision,” Everything alright?” Vision snaps out of his trance, looking to the racoon approaching warily towards him. He smiles lightly.

“Still a little perturbed is all.” Vision sighs. Rocket reaches Vision. Unsure of what else to do, he gently pats Vision’s hand. Vision knows that both of these intergalactic friends aren’t very apt at this sort of thing, so he appreciates Rocket’s genuine effort all the more. Vision tussles Rocket’s fur. Rocket laughs lightly, playfully batting off Vision’s hand.

“Don’t listen to those ignorant terrans.” Nebula says rather bluntly,” They have no idea what a true sentient weapon looks like.”

“Half the patience, four times the firepower.” Rocket laughs, jumping back onto the couch,” If they want ‘sentient weapons’ they need to look to the outer reaches of the galaxy.” Rocket nudges Nebula,” Remember Ego? Now that’s a sentient weapon.”

“As much as I appreciate the sentiment, according to their written definition, they are correct with their label.” Vision lies back in his chair, watching the cartoon on the TV,” Then again, so are others who are completely different from me in every way.”

“They didn’t define it as something stupid like,’ mechanically enhanced free-thinking being’, right?” Rocket laughs uproarously at his stupid joke, but slowly stops when meeting Vision’s worried gaze. Vision lightly tosses the paper to Rocket. He quickly unfolds it, scanning until the definition he’s looking for:

_ ‘Any being capable of independent thought who, be it through mechanical means or independant means, is capable of mass destruction if left unchecked through a federal organization.’ _

Rocket stares at the paper, slack jawed. He looks between the paper and Vision, then to the paper again, re-reading the entry several times to make sure he isn’t crazy. He holds it up to Nebula, who reads the note, then staring in utter confusion at Vision.

“That means literally anyone in the galaxy.” Nebula states confused,” Yes, you fall under this category, when defined like this, but so does someone like Natasha. Rocket can be included, and if he was still here, Groot would fall into that category.”

“A dedicated duck standing next to a nuclear launch button qualifies.” Rocket laughs,” You humans thought  _ this _ is what makes a sentient weapon? I think whoever made this definition would die from shock if they went to Hala. You want a sentient weapon, look no further than the supreme intelligence. You’re lucky you haven’t been conquered yet, with such a narrow mindset.”

“Is this truly the planet Quill came from? They’re all so different from his stories. Barely a decent warrior among them.” Nebula munches on her poptart, looking curiously to the inside,” What was this red stuff again? It’s quite delectable.” 

“Strawberry filling.” Vision scoffs,” I wouldn’t write off humans that quickly. When push comes to shove, the small amount of qualified warriors on this planet is all it needs. It only took four humans, an asgardian and a hulk to ward off a chitauri attack in New York.” Rocket and Nebula look to Vision, expecting something actually impressive.

“Sorry, you want me to be impressed by the act of killing the weakest race in the galaxy?” Nebula asks sincerely,” You just need to take out the mothership and all the connected soldiers wither and die instantaneously. Conquering one such ship was my first successful mission to take out a fleet of them when I was but eight years old. Thanos quickly enslaved them, barely uttered a word of praise.” Vision just kinda looks at her. He’s impressed she’s become a bit more open about her past, but he’s also highly unsure of what he’s actually supposed to say in response to such a story.

“Look, I don’t mean all humies are weak, I’ve seen their might with my own eyes.” Rocket chuckles dryly, his ears beginning to lower as he starts recalling memories of his team, of Quill. Nebula gently pets him, and Rocket smiles,” I’m just saying they’re not the smartest or sturdiest beings out there. They just need to be a little more grateful for ol’ Nebs and me.”

“Nebs?” Vision chuckles in amusement.

“I’m trying to get her used to a nickname, something I can say faster than Nebula over coms during a battle or something.” Rocket says,” I think it’s gonna start catching on.”

“It most certainly won’t.” Nebula responds quickly. She looks to Vision, a small pleading look in his eye, trying his best to suppress a grin. She sighs loudly,” Fine. Fine, use it as you like.” Vision quickly processes the information in his system, changing the standard ‘Nebula’ to ‘Nebs’ as the primary referral method. 

“You won’t regret this, Nebs.” Vision jokes.

“It’s gonna spread like wildfire, Nebs.” Rocket teases, rustling a piece of poptart out of his packet and chomping it loudly.

“Shall we play a game, Nebs?”

“I think Nebs would like that.”

Nebula sighs loudly, getting up from the couch and walking to the kitchen. Rocket and Vision erupt in laughter. Vision realizes his anxiety from earlier has calmed significantly. Rocket scarfs down the rest of his poptart through tears from laughing so hard. Vision leans in his chair, small giggles coming from his lips as he thinks about the cute nickname.

Nebula comes back into the living room, dropping a box onto the coffee table. It’s ‘Clue’ the board game. She sits on the ground next to the coffee table, looking between Vision and Rocket expectantly. They both smile, and get ready to play a rousing game and forget about the small inconvenience of the day.

* * *

It takes less than three weeks for Hayward to return. He interupts Vision while he’s tending to his small garden in front of his house. Vision holds the pruned buds of red roses in his hands, stopped from putting them in his bucket of weeds by a shiny black shoe covering the opening. ‘ _ And I thought today was going to be such a good day. _ ’ Vision thinks to himself. He looks up and forces a smile to greet the annoyance. Hayward smiles back. Vision turns his attention back to the roses, carefully trimming branches. Hayward forcibly takes the sheers away from Vision.

“Aren’t you going to invite me inside for a drink?” He asks, gently waving the large scissors triumphantly in the air. Vision forces a smile, points his finger at the bud he was about to cut, and sends a small blast of energy out, frying only the bud. Vision stands and brushes off his jeans and loose white v-neck shirt, staining it with dirt. 

“I’m not fond of stray dogs in my house.” Vision spits as he phases through Hayward and into his house, locking it behind him. Though it might only be the second time he’s physically made an appearance, he’s been a horrid thorn in Vision’s side for the past three weeks. Constant surveillance vans, forcibly questioning his neighbors, even going as far as moving into the house just down the street to watch over him. The knock afterwards doesn’t surprise him, just adds fuel to the fire inside. He takes a deep breath before turning around and answering the door.

“Woof.” Hayward stands, holding up a warrant for Vision’s arrest. Vision looks unamused between the paper and Hayward. He leans against the front door, staring directly into Hayward's eyes.

“The charges?” He says in a low energy tone.

“Failure to comply with a government order.” Hayward says with a smirk. Vision holds up a finger, touching his temple with his other hand. He dials his internal phone, making an urgent call. The phone barely rings twice before the other party answers. Vision opens his mouth to act as a speaker for Hayward to hear.

“Secretary Everett speaking.” the voice on the other end says. Hayward flinches.

“Good afternoon, madam secretary of defense, this is The Vision with the Avengers.” Vision says in a calm and cool tone,” I have a Director Hayward at my front door. He’s claiming I haven’t complied with a government officer, as I didn’t surrender myself to his custody when he demanded.”

“What did he demand of you?” The woman on the other end asks. Haywards flinches slightly, but doesn’t show any other sign of discomfort.

“He demanded I turn myself in for being a ‘sentient weapon’ in the United States. I understand I do technically fall under the sloppy definition provided, but he was made aware of how such an action would directly violate the Sokovia Accords. It appears as though he is still under the impression he is somehow able to order me around without consequence. He has failed to present a signed letter from the Avengers director, nor any other legal documentation allowing me to do anymore than ask him to leave my privately owned property where he is currently trespassing.” There’s a beat of silence. Hayward glares at Vision, Vision half heartedly smiles in response. The woman on the other end lets out a long sigh.

“Vision, please allow me to apologize on Director Hayward’s behalf. It seems as though the instructions for the retrieval that congress requested have been misinterpreted in some way or shape. I will make sure to have a nice. long. discussion. with him.” the line clicks from the other end. Vision smugly grins. Hayward's phone begins to buzz in his pocket. Vision waves sarcastically to him, closing the door behind him.

Vision stands next to the door, listening for the people to leave. Once he hears their vehicle drive down the street, he lets out a loud sigh. He walks into his house, floating slightly to not disturb his freshly vacuumed carpet. He glides down the small hallway, making his way to the kitchen. He still needs to clean up his dishes from the weekly banquet last night. He’s found he can make a mean chicken casserole. 

He stops right before the kitchen, a certain photo catching his eye. It’s small, within the collage of photos Wanda had in her room that Vision transferred into the house long ago.It’s a small black and white photobooth photo, ripped away from it’s long forgotten siblings. The picture features Wanda’s caught mid laugh, while Vision plants a kiss on her cheek. He gently takes out the small photo, reminiscing about the day it was taken.

It was around september 2017, the pair had found the perfect formula for sneaking away from their responsible parties, running like hell with their phones off until they’re found. To anyone else it would seem fruitless, but to them it was like a game, seeing how long they can stay together before having to say goodbye once more. They had made the decision to meet in Bloomington, Michigan, in front of the Mall of America. Neither had ever had a chance to go before, and they thought it might be a fun experience. Thankfully it was a busy day, so they could slip around unnoticed. They visited almost every shop and attraction, making sure to thoroughly take it all in. Near the end of the day, they tiredly looked for a place to rest.

Wanda noticed the booth first, saying how there’s normally a bench inside, at least that’s what she’d seen on TV . They plopped in the unoccupied booth, tired from the excitement of the day. Wanda jokingly complained about her aching heels, and Vision happily took that as an invitation to set her legs over his. The couple laughed like middle schoolers in love, like every breath was the funniest joke they’d ever heard as long as it came from the other. 

Wanda was fascinated by the machine, finally asking to try it. It was hard to find the right position to pose, always unfortunately moving as the photos were taken. Wanda was getting frustrated by the whole situation, but Vision found her pouting adorable. He’d kissed her cheek in the middle of an annoyed Sokovian rant. She couldn’t help but laugh in response to the random gesture. He did it again as the camera clicked for the last time. As the pictures began to print, Wanda lovingly kissed him back, giggling the whole time. Once the photos finished, the pictures dropped out the small slot on the machine with a ding to alert the couple.

Of course the first three pictures were blurred and awkward, but the perfectly candid fourth photo made the experience worth it. Wanda ripped the other three pictures off the photo strip, throwing them away as they left the mall hand in hand. She gifted it to Vision as their parting gift once Natasha intercepted them. Vision had added it to her collage, hoping one day she would see it and be reminded of that fantastic day.

Vision gently holds the picture, giggling when the memory plays over and over in his head. He smiles ear to ear, taking out his wallet and placing it in the same clear sleeve as his New Jersey ID. He giggles gleefully to himself, floating to the kitchen to start on washing the dishes.

‘I stand corrected, this indeed is a fantastic day.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to start the Endgame portion of the story starting next chapter. This is my warning to you that it's going to be reimagined quite a bit. Thanks for reading.


	11. An Invitation

Vision carefully sticks a small hotdog on the cocktail sword, placing it near the other couple dozen on the serving tray. He triumphantly smiles, turning his attention to the uncooked pizzas on the counter. He adds a bit more cheese to the crusts, putting more garlic butter on them before they go into the oven. His attention is quickly grabbed by the mixing bowl on the counter, covered in dry cheesecake batter. He lets out a loud sigh, picking it up and starting to clean up the crusty substance. The back door opens, Vision glimpses over.

“Coolers: Stocked.” Clint says with a chuckle, opening a can of coke and taking a sip,” I separated out the sodas from the alcohols and juices, like you asked. Anything else you need for this thing?”

“More time.” Vision chuckles. Clint lets out a small chuckle in response,” Can you check the cheesecake in the fridge? I want to make sure it’s setting properly.” 

“I’m sure it’s exploded since the last time I checked.” Clint puts down his can, opening the fridge and looking at the four cakes taking up a majority of the fridge space. Nothing wrong with them, just like thirty minutes ago,” You’re being paranoid, man.”

“I’m just nervous. It’s my first time hosting something.” Vision scoffs. He scrubs the bowl to get rid of the crusted cream cheese, before placing it in the dishwasher. He anxiously checks on the oven, still preheating. He looks over his spread of foods, nervously rearranging the hotdogs again. Clint reaches across the kitchen island, holding Vision’s wrist. Vision looks at him, a sympathetic smile on his face.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you this nervous.” Clint chuckles, patting Vision’s arm,” I would tell you to relax, but that won’t help anything.” Clint looks around the kitchen, glancing to the lounge and the small dining room. “Instead I’ll give you some renovation ideas.” Clint hips up onto an empty spot on the counter, swinging his legs and holding up his hands to frame the room. Vision chuckles, winding up a towel and lightly hitting Clint’s back.

“I think the house looks fine as it is. Now get down, don’t want my nice new marble to crack under your ego.” Clint clutches his pearls, looking to Vision with a dramatic gasp. Vision pushes him forwards, causing Clint to jump to the ground.

“I’ll have you know, some people would pay good money for a consultation from a renovation genius, like me.” Clint wanders into the dining room, sipping his drink loudly.

“Didn’t realize the world was looking for ‘Ronin the Carpenter’.” Vision laughs.

“Can you believe the news outlets only focus on the piles of bodies, and not the freshly built shed right next to them?” Clint sarcastically swishes the red can in his hand,” What little taste they have.”

“I saw the lovely picnic bench you made in Afghanistan, lovely craftsmanship.” Vision and Clint look at each other snickering before laughing uproariously,” Could you imagine if you actually did that? How confused the world would be?”

“It’s a fun idea.” Clint says, he lets out a sigh, his look turns somber. “Thanks for letting me lie low here for a while.”

“As long as you help around the house, stay for as long as you need.” Vision picks up the appetizer plates, transferring them to the dining room table.

“I’m a fugitive.”

“You’re a friend.” Clint looks compassionately at Vision. 

“It’s weird to think that you kicked my ass all those years ago for a far smaller crime.” Clint laughs,” You’ve certainly changed.”

“I’ve grown. I’ve developed my own moral compass.” Vision smirks, rustling Clint’s hair,” I was far younger and inexperienced back then. I only had the ideals of the governments programmed within me. I’ve come to realize that there’s so much more grey in the world than the black and white described in the laws.” The oven dings to alert it’s preheated.

“Sounds like you need put in the pizza, Socrates.” Clint teases. Vision chuckles softly, heading back into the kitchen, tightening his apron as he walks. Clint looks around the dining room, taking another sip of his soda,” If you take away this weird metal partition between the lounge and dining room, you can make a little personal bar that connects directly into the kitchen.” Clint glances to Vision, who rolls his eyes,” I’m just saying, if you want to impress, people love a private bar. It would even fit the whole aesthetic of the place.”

“Thanks for the tip.” Vision carefully slides the first pizza into the oven.

“That’ll be two hundred dollars.” The pair laugh, when there’s a knock at the door. Clint takes a hesitant sip of his drink, looking to Vision.

“I’m still a little preoccupied, can you get the door?” Vision asks, sliding in the second pizza,” I’m sure it’s just Sarah. She likes to help with setting up and cleaning up for these kinds of things.” 

Clint shrugs, setting down the can on the table and jogging slightly to the door. He arrives as another knock rings out. He opens the door, and immediately slams it shut, alarming Vision. Vision turns to see Clint sprinting up the stairs, hearing the guest bedroom door slam. Vision grumbles to himself, quickly putting in the final pizza, and closing the oven. The visitor knocks again. Vision wipes his hands with his apron as he walks.

“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He says loudly. Before he opens the door, he looks curiously up the stairs. He opens the door,” Sorry, I’m still getting ready. Though I had a bit of time before the party.” He looks at the three figures in the door, completely understanding Clint’s reaction. 

“Uh, hi?” Nat says, looking dumbstruck at Vision. A smile grows on his face.

“Oh hello!” He reaches out and gives a hug to Steve, Scott and Nat,” I didn’t know you’d be coming. You didn’t respond to the invite, so I just sort of assumed…” Vision clears his throat, silently inviting them in,” It’s been quite a while, Steve. Nat, always lovely to have you. And…” Vision pauses as he scans Scott Lang very carefully. His records have him listed as deceased, a victim of the blip. Vision’s stare doesn’t go unnoticed, Nat nods. “Scott. Welcome.”

The three enter the house, taking in the scenery. Vision walks quickly to the kitchen, turning on the oven light to observe the pizza. He quietly beckons the group further into the house. Steve slowly saunters, taking in the litany of photos adoring the small hallway. Nat looks curiously up the stairs, but continues towards the kitchen.

“Based on the lack of any entrees or sides, I can assume you aren’t here for the Cultural Appreciation Party?” Vision asks with a soft chuckle. Nat and Steve look at Vision sympathetically.

“Ok, I know this might sound rude…” Scott starts, Nat and Steve turn and stare at him, ”How does a robot go about getting such sweet digs? Like, this is...amazing.” Nat looks at Scott, dumbfounded. Steve gives a disappointed scoff.

“Well, the first step is to have a large enough asset pool to comfortably buy a house.” Vision says with a smirk,” But that bar seems a little too high for you.” Nat and Steve turn and look at Vision shocked. Vision smiles. Steve clears his throat.

“Ignore him.” Steve says to Vision,” We’re here to discuss an important matter with you.”

“I guessed that much.” Vision picks up a few dirty utensils, turning on the water in the sink to rinse them off,” You wouldn’t have come without warning if it wasn’t.” 

“Vis…” Nat starts.

“I appreciate the visit, but I must inform you that I’m hosting a party, which will start in thirty minutes.” Vision sighs, placing the utensils in the dishwasher,” The most I can offer you is twenty minutes. If you go and get a veggie or fruit platter, you can stay for the festivities, otherwise I’ll have to ask for you to come again at some other time.” 

“Can I have one of these?” Scott asks from the dining room, pointing to the miniature hot dogs. Vision nods. Scott happily picks it up and munches on it.

“We’re here to ask for your help.” Steve says in a harsh tone. Vision gestures to the tucked in chairs beneath the island. Nat and Steve sit, watching Vision clean off counters and prepare plates. 

“We believe we’ve found a way to potentially bring everyone back.” Nat says, Vision pauses, his hand hovering over a stack of plates.

“Pardon?” He asks over his shoulder.

“Utilizing the Quantum Realm, I think there might be a way to enter from our time and displace ourselves in a completely separate time and place.” Scott says, scooting out a chair, holding several small hot dogs,” We’re trying to get someone with a big enough brain to turn this thought into a reality. We tried Tony Stark…” Nastasha elbows him in the ribs.

“But he told you that such science is unstable and volatile, didn’t he?” Vision asks, grabbing the plates and stacking them close to his chest,” So you came to the supercomputer he created to aid you.”

“Vis, you know that’s not how…” Steve starts.

“We came here because we thought you would have a better understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish with this volatile science.” Nat says, sympathetically looking to Vision,” If there’s even a small chance this wacky theory could turn into a way to bring back everyone who left, shouldn’t we take it?” Vision sets the plates down on the counter with a loud clunk, his mind buzzing. 

“You...you can bring them back?” Clint’s voice cuts through the silence. The trio turn quickly to see him standing beside the stairs, tears forming in his eyes, with his mouth agape. Natasha takes a shaky breath in, unsure of what to say.

“It’s a working theory.” Steve says, looking Clint up and down,” We need someone smarter than the three of us to put it into practice.” Clint looks between the three, then to Vision, who’s back still faces him. His shoulders are tense.

Clint walks up through the dining room quickly, rushing around the island, to grab Vision by the shoulder. He looks at Vision's face, full of heart wrenching agony over a sternly thinking expression. Clint gently shakes Vision’s shoulder, locking eyes together. Clint makes a small motion of sympathetic pleading. Vision looks at him, giving a worried and harrowing frown. Clint grips his shoulder a little tighter, pleading with his eyes. Vision sighs warily.

“We can bring them back.” Clint whispers. Vision tenses.

“I’m sorry. Can you...give me some time?” Vision asks softly. Everyone shifts uncomfortably. “I still...I can’t abandon my plans tonight. I’ve been so looking forward to hosting.” 

“Vis.” Steve says quietly. Vision wipes his hands with a dish towel, softly shrugging off Clint’s hand. Vision clears his throat.

“Like I said before,” Vision turns to face the three sitting down,” If you go to the store and grab a veggie platter, you can stay for the festivities. If not…” Vision continues to pat his hand dry with the towel. The trio look at each other, contemplating their next move,” I was planning on grilling up some good ol’ American hot dogs, maybe playing some party games. Marco said he’d bring some picadillo and Cuban rum. I was looking forward to that. Sarah’s bringing Belgian pretzel twists she made from scratch with Hannah. Dhevan’s going to introduce me to his girlfriend.” Vision lowers his hands, staring at the ground,” I was so looking forward to this.”

Clint walks around the kitchen island, trying to usher the three out of the room. Natasha grips his arm with intense force. Clint stares at her sadly, pushing everyone to the garage door. Scott grabs another hot dog on the way. Once they’re in the garage, Clint sighs and leans on a workshop counter. He pinches the bridge of his nose, before looking at the group. He opens his mouth to speak, but Natasha’s slap stops him.

“Where the hell have you been.” She angrily cries. She brings Clint into a hug. She quietly sobs into his shoulder. Clint pets her head carefully, looking to Scott and Steve. They nod awkwardly.

“Cap.” Clint says with a nod, he looks at Scott,” Tic tac.” Clint looks down to Nat, a soft smile growing on his lips,” Everyone, huh? Sounds like a hell of a project.”

“We need as many hands as we can get.” Steve says with a smile,” But first we need a brilliant mind to help us come up with the ‘how’ we’ll do it.”

“If you give me two days, I think I can convince him.” Clint says. Natashs pushes away from Clint, looking him in the eyes. “In the meantime, you should look for someone else as well. If stark won’t help, you’ll need all the help you can get.”

“Can’t we just, like, reprogram him to help us or something?” Scott asks. The others glare at him,” What? He said it himself, he’s a supercomputer. Supercomputers can still be programmed, right? Let me mess with the codes and he’ll help.” Steve turns and hits Scott, causing him to fall to the floor. Scott looks shocked and confused.

“Can you stop talking about him like he’s just ‘some thing’?” Steve asks angrily,” Vision has his own reasons for his actions. If he doesn’t want to help for some reason, that’s up to him. We won’t force him, just like how we didn’t force Tony.” Scott looks between the three angry Avengers, raising his hands in defeat.

They hear the front door open in the house. They stand in silence, listening to the scattered greetings towards Vision. They listen as he responds positively to the arrivals. Nat crosses her arms, looking to Steve and chuckling dryly. Steve nods knowingly.

“Something tells me the kiddos coming tonight would be pretty excited to meet some real Avengers.” Clint says with a sigh,” But, I think the host wouldn’t be able to enjoy the fruits of his hard work if you stay.”

“Can we expect you at the compound in two days?” Nat asks with a sly smile, her tears drying on her cheeks. Clint smiles lightly. 

“Hawkeye at your service.” He chuckles.

Steve helps Scott to his feet. Clint opens the garage door, letting them out. They wave, he waves back. He closes the garage and enters the house. Sarah looks over, startled at his entrance. Clint smiles kindly, walking over to the kitchen. Vision carefully pulls out the fully cooked pizzas, carefully to not allow the pans to touch the sporadic eight year old running around the kitchen island. A man with dark hair has the fridge open, carefully taking out two of the cheesecakes. 

“Ya know, everyone’s bringing a dish to this, Vision.” The man says, carefully turning around,” I don’t know where you think they’re going to find the appetite too…” He stops when he sees Clint’s face. His hands start to slack, the cakes beginning to slide off the plates. Sarah quickly swoops in, taking the cakes and setting them on the kitchen island. The man stands, mouth agape, raising a finger to point at Clint. Clint flinches, tensing his shoulders.

“Oh, Harold, stop that.” Sarah says, lighting tapping his chin to shut his mouth. She looks to Clint and smiles, extending a hand,” Hello. I’m Sarah Copter, this is my husband Harold. Over there is our little Hannah.” the girl stops circling Vision for a moment to wave shyly,” I’m so sorry for the disturbance. Harold is just…”

“I’m a huge fan.” He says, shoving past Sarah to extend a hand to Clint. Clint amusedly took the hand,” You’re just...wow you’re really here. Okay. Oh, oh, can I..?” He pats around his pants pockets, a horrified expression appears on his face. “I left my wallet at home. Can you? Do you mind?” Clint chuckles. Harold briskly walks to the front door, opening and closing it quickly. Clint peaks out the large front window, watching Harold sprint across Vision’s lawn and flawlessly hurdle the fence.

“Again, so sorry.” Sarah says with a sigh,” He becomes so childish when you come up.”

“I’m flattered.” Clint says with a laugh,” I’ll just say it for the record. I’m Clint.” Sarah smiles. She turns and walks over to the dining room, continuing to organize napkins and silverware. 

“Clint, are you going to participate tonight?” Vision asks quizzically.

“Can I? I’ll grill up those hot dogs if I need to.” 

“Please don’t make any more food.” Sarah chuckles,” There’s only going to be twelve people coming. Thirteen if you stay. Each of them bringing their own dishes.”

“I said sorry.” Vision scoffs, he smiles to Clint, who kindly smiles in return.

Harold quickly returns, trying to hide his pants behind awkward throat clearing. Clint autographs a series of trading cards for Harold. He happily shows Sarah, who smiles encouragingly to him. 

Soon the guests show up, one by one, bringing their own dishes. Everyone brings a dish from their respective heritage. Marco brings Cuban food, Dhevan brings homemade naan, his girlfriend Chloe brings a veggie tray with homemade sriracha ranch. After an hour, everyone's arrived. They all enjoy the night, eating the variety of foods, questioning why Vision made New York style dishes, but letting him off when he talks about how he was made. Everyone makes acquaintances with Clint, thanking him for his service in the Avengers.

The party lasts for hours. Sarah’s the last to leave after helping to clean up a bit. Vision washes dishes in the sink, while Clint wipes down the dining room table. Vision pauses, glancing behind him to look at Clint. Clint whistles quietly to himself, circling the table. Vision feels a twinge in his chest, letting out a sigh.

“Just say what you want to say.” Vision says, starting to scrub the dishes once more. 

“If there’s a chance, we should take it.” Clint says, finishing wiping and moving over to the island to begin wipining it,” I understand your reservations, but isn’t just the thought of her coming back enough motivation?”

“That’s the problem Clint.” Vision says with a sigh,” It’s the best motivation I’ve had in years. Just the thought of her being there when I wake up, even sitting in that chair is enough to make me want to help.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because the last time I put my hope and trust into a mission like this, I got my heart shattered and fell into the deepest pits of depression.” Vision slams his hands on the counter,” Though that mission might have been improbable, this one is plainly impossible. I don’t want to place my hope on such a dangerous and purely theoretical solution.” Vision looks to Clint, who looks pitifully towards him.

“I get it.” Clint says, draping the towel over his shoulder,” I do. I’ve been in that exact scenario. Hesitant to place my hope in anything, trying to stay content with the life I’d chosen. Trying to live while ignoring the gaping hole in my life.” Clint leans on the counter, looking to Vision,” But a certain toaster showed me how to force myself forwards. Made me take the first steps into letting fickle hope into my life. Helped me regain a sense of self, and helped me to reflect.” Vision turns his head to stare at Clint,” I’m not going to sit here and try to force you to come with me. I’m just going to try to give you a little push towards fickle hope.”

“The science is purely theoretical.” Vision sighs.

“Didn’t stop Tony from creating a new element.” Clint chuckles,” Didn’t stop Bruce from turning into the big guy. Hell, didn’t stop Wakanda from experimenting with vibranium.” Clint turns Vision so they face each other,” All it takes is a leap of faith.”

Vision looks into Clint’s eyes, the sincerity he’s presenting, pure and hopeful. Vision can feel the tension in his chest soften slightly. He looks around the house. The home he’d made. The home he thought Wanda would want if she were here. He realizes he's never lost hope of her returning someday. His lip quivers, an overwhelming relief surging throughout his body. It’s finally starting to purely hit him, Wanda could come home. Wanda could make fun of his decorating choices, of the silly array of marshmallow themed pillows around the house, of the game room that should’ve been an office. 

Vision collapses to the ground, letting out a mix of laughs and sobs. Clint sits next to him. Vision reaches up to his face, trying to stifle his breath. He feels a small wet sensation on his finger. He carefully reaches up to his eyes. He's crying. He doesn’t know where the water’s coming from, but it makes him feel relief all the same. Robots can cry. He’s never felt happier, he looks to Clint, a wet smile on his face.

Clint silently smiles, raising his hand for a handshake. Vision looks at it, and smiles, shaking the silent contract into existence.

“Guess we should prepare for the worst, huh?” Clint laughs.

“No.” Vision sighs, leaning on the cupboard,” Let’s prepare for the best.” 


	12. The Beginning of the End(game)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vision and the Avengers work on a way to bring everyone back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going to admit that the explanation of time travel is based off of how I think it works, but it's probably utterly wrong. So just take it with a heavy pile of salt.

“There are still too many calculations needed before we can actually attempt any sort of physical test, surely you know that Doctor Banner.” Vision tries his best to plead with Professor Hulk as they walk to the main hangar. Hulk scoffs, trying to wave Vision away.

“Scott’s done this before.” He says, walking to the bronze van. Vision lets out an angry sigh, floating behind as they approach. Nat and Steve look confused at the large set up in front of the van. Scott stands in front for the van, doing little stretches in preparation. Vision angrily sighs, starting up the servers and typing in commands.

“Ready for a test drive?” Steve asks. Scott gives a thumbs up.

“Alright, going subatomic in three, two, one.” Hulk counts down. He presses a button and Scott disappears into the machine in the back of the van. “Coming back in three, two, one.” Hulk presses the same button. Scott’s suit comes back, but the contents inside are different.

“Guys? I feel weird.” the child inside the suit says. Everyone looks at it horrified.

“Okay, it’s okay. I can fix this.” Hulk says, frantically configuring buttons on the control panel. Vision watches from behind his shoulder, carefully trying to run a complex series of calculations. Hulk presses the button. 

The suit goes in, Hulk quickly presses the button again and it returns. This time housing an old man. Nat and Steve gasp loudly. Hulk begins to frantically type and push buttons. Vision pushes him out of the way, interfacing with the machine. He presses the button, waiting for ten seconds, then pressing it once more. Scott stands, panting and shaky. Vision powers down the machine, looking at Hulk with a glare.

“Time travel!” Hulk says with a sheepish grin. Vision phases through the set up, and stands next to Scott. He quickly scans for any differences. He’s healthy, Vision chuckles softly.

“Hope you don’t mind being about two years younger.” Vision laughs. Scott smiles wearily. Nat and Steve take him away to rest. Hulk and Vision remain.

“I, uh. I’m out of my element here.” Hulk says as he fiddles around with the machinery. Vision sighs, hovering over and working adjacent to Hulk. After a few minutes, Vision looks to the van.

“The pieces are here, I know that much.” Vision says, shaking his head,” Yet i don’t have the picture this puzzle forms. Given enough time, I think I could somehow put it together, but it would take years, if not tens of years, to find.”

“That bad?” Hulk asks with a laugh. Vision shoots a look at the man. He closes his mouth quickly. “I’m just...I’m gonna go make sure Scott’s alright.” Vision smiles, scrunching his nose, before going back to a stony expression. 

He connects to the servers, scanning every inch of the internet for research regarding Quantum travel, of the Quantum realm in general. There’s little useful information he can use, but he tries his best to configure the data in different ways and shapes, trying to figure out a feasible way to try and complete the necessary tasks. He runs through simulation after simulation, getting more frustrated with every failure. A hand taps his shoulder, he snaps out of his experimentation, staring directly at Natasha. 

“You look like you're concentrating pretty hard.” She says,” Everyone’s taking a break. Scott’s gonna go to Taco Bell, and he asked me, to ask you, if you wanted anything.” Vision doesn’t break eye contact with Natasha, baffled.

“Did the Quantum Realm do mental damage to him?” Vision asks warrily. Nastasha laughs.

“I think he just forgot you’re not human.” She says with a smile.” Anyways, I’m also here to invite you on a break. It’s been a while since you were last at the compound. The Avengers area hasn’t exactly changed, but the staff building has undergone a few nifty renovations. They got a cool fountain.” Vision chuckles. “Don’t laugh, the agents voted for it.”

“Then I would love to go see this wondrous fountain.” Vision lowers himself to the ground, extending his arm for Natasha,” Shall we?” Natasha laughs, playfully taking his arm. They skip slightly towards the entrance of the hangar, letting go once they reach the door. 

“How’re things going with S.W.O.R.D?” She asks as they casually stroll through the hall,” I haven’t gotten any reports recently.”

“Well, they’re still in the house just up the street.” Vision smiles,” I try to invite them to the bi-weekly banquets, even to the softball games, but I just don’t think they like me.”

“Has Director Dickwad tried anything else?”

“Oh, Tyler? I’m getting used to his semi-monthly visits.” Vision laughs,” He doesn’t seem to like it when I pretend I don’t speak English, wear increasingly random hats, or even when I just start casually phasing through the door so I don’t have to speak to him anymore.”

“He’s truly desperate to get you, huh?” Natasha takes a few steps in front of Vision turning around to walk backwards and face him,” What did you do to make him want to headhunt you so badly? Is the pay not enough here?”

“Well, if you’re offering a raise…” The two share a laugh,” He keeps calling me the ‘most sophisticated sentient weapon ever created’, and I’m always more than happy to tell him about the other planets who established AI far before Earth. He never enjoys those speeches.”

“I think you should just start reciting the Webster’s Dictionary the next time he visits.” Nat laughs softly,” I can just imagine him standing there as you just keep talking without stop.”

“That should last me a couple visits.” Vision says, making a mental note to record Hayward’s reaction to send to Nat. 

“If he spent half of the effort he’s used to get you on reviving the aerospace program over there, we’d be halfway to figuring out how to join Rocket, Nebula and Danver’s in the stars.” Nat sighs, looking out the window to the grass. Her smile fades as she looks out,” I hope this works. I don’t know what I’ll do if it doesn’t.” She looks to Vision,” What’s the first thing you’ll do when Wanda comes back?” Vision smiles.

“Well, it all really depends on the circumstances in which we’ll meet.” He says fondly,” But I guess the first event I have planned is taking a trip to an amusement park. Somewhere with a lot of roller coasters. I’ll spend the day with her, riding every ride at least three times, just so I can hear her laugh and scream with excitement. Then, when it’s night and the parks about to close, I’ll take her on the ferris wheel, where I’ll propose to her.”

“What happened to ‘seeing how it worked out’?” Nat teases.

“It might be a bit sudden for her, but I’ve been wanting to ask her that question for five years. She can reject me, but I won’t be disappointed. We’ll have our whole lives.” Vision fondly daydreams,” Maybe we’ll go to the Mall of America again. We'll go on a road trip to Vegas, ski the Rockies, ice fish in Alaska. We’ll do everything and more. Even if we do nothing, I’ll be the happiest I’ve ever been.” Vision looks at Nat, smiling a hollow smile,” And what will you do?”

“Me?” Nat asks, laughing uncomfortably,” I don’t know. I’ll probably still work on protecting the world, finding and training spectacular individuals so the next Thanos won’t know what hit ‘im.” She smiles fondly,” I’ll just be happy to get this fractured little family back together one last time.” She stops in her tracks, startling Vision. He looks at her with concern, she looks up to him with small tears in her eyes and a wavering smile.

Vision quickly gives her a hug, making sure to cover her face so no one else can see. She gratefully accepts, sobbing softly into Vision’s chest. He gently pats her back, trying his best to silently comfort her. After a couple minutes, she backs away, rubbing her eyes. She smirks and gently hits Vision.

“I guess now we’re even.” She laughs. Vision chuckles.

They make their way to the employee building. Nat proudly shows off the large ‘A’ fountain in the center of the main lobby. Vision applauds it, Nat takes a sarcastic bow. They laugh, turning around to head back. Nat stops Vision cold, staring out the glass entry way, watching Tony hand Steve the Shield. Nat quietly opens her mouth to form a large ‘O’, Vision joins, shocked at the development. They hide behind a pillar, watching the two enter the building, walking towards the Avengers dormitory part of the compound. They silently follow, Vision holding Nat as he silently floats, trying their best to listen to the conversation of the forgiven friends. They can’t clearly make out any of it, finally following them into the sitting room.

“Barton?” Tony asks when they lock eyes. Clint waves slightly. “Weren’t you?”

“They can’t legally prove I’ve done anything.” Clint stares at the wall, eating a donut hole.

“Got it.” Tony turns around, observing the room,” This can’t be it, right?”

“Nebula and Rocket are heading here now, it should take them a couple of days.” Nat taps Vision’s hadn to be let down,” I need someone to go get Thor, and Rhodey was scheduled to check in soon, so I was going to ask him then.”

“Oh great, four more was exactly the number to create the perfect plan.” Tony turns to look at Natasha, a grin on his face.

“We’ve only got so many Pym particles to go around.” Bruce says,” Only enough for ten people to go back and come back.”

“If we can even figure out how to do it with that limited resource.” Vision sighs,” Without proper test runs, we don’t know if there’s even an option to come ‘back’.”

“Oh, I’ve got that covered.” Tony says, holding up his glass face phone, projecting a schematic for a large scale time machine. Vision quickly gets to analysing and studying.

“Of fucking course you do.” Clint sighs, popping another donut hole.

“Anything else you might want to say, Barton?” 

“I’m sorry, m’lord, this humble peasant has spoken out of line.” Clint throws a donut hole at Tony.

“I think that’s the closest to a thanks I’ll get from him.” Tony laughs. Vision backs away, leaning on a coffee table, concentrating on calculations in his head.

“Vision?” Steve asks. Vision lets out a scoff, staring at Tony.

“He did it.” He says with a smirk,” This is a stable model with precise time dilation and location control.” Vision claps slowly looking at Tony,” However, with the materials needed, along with the sheer size of the structure. We can’t put the idea into practice for around three weeks. That’s if we pay for expedited shipping.”

“Then we’ve got a long road ahead of us.” Steve says,” But a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”

“Cheers to that!” Clint says, taking a donut hole, before beginning an assault on the others with the sweet treat. Nat tries to throw them back at Clint, but Clint accurately throws intercepting donut holes to intercept them midair. The playful food fight ends as quickly as it starts, everyone giggling happily and picking up the snacks.

The first week passes slowly, mostly waiting for the pieces needed to construct Tony’s machine to come. The Guardian’s show up about the same time as Rhodes, scaring the hell out of Scott. Nat decides to send Bruce and Rocket to try to get Thor, using the logic that if Thor tries to fight, Hulk can stop him, and Rocket’s relentless bluntness will cut into Thor where it counts. Well, she made the right decision, because before construction begins on week two, Thor, Bruce and Rocket show up in the Quinjet. Everyone is slightly shocked to see Thor, but Vision treats him with the same respect he’s always displayed to his teammates. 

During the third week, tension gets higher. The closer the group gets to completing the machine, the more worried everyone becomes. Tony leaves the blueprints with Rocket, asking for Clint, Rhodes, Nebula, Scott and Thor to work on the final touches, while Tony, Vision, Nat and Bruce work on creating the suits for their needs, using Scott’s Ant-man suit as the blue-print. 

“Hankis gonna kill me.” Scott sighs. He was chosen as the fitting and test subject for the suit, seeing as the only one who’s ever been to the Quantum Realm was him. “I mean it. He was so mad when I took the suit to fight at the airport. I just got back in his good graces, and now when he comes back, boom like ten suits exactly them. It’s his worst nightmare.”

“Well, he can’t come back without them.” Tony says, calibrating the large transporter.

“What if this doesn’t work?” Scott asks worriedly,” I know I suggested it, but you’ve got to admit actually trying to time travel is different then suggesting time travel.”

“It’s easy man, just don’t talk to your past self, don't kill any bugs, and come back. That way history isn’t changed when you get back.” Rhodes says with a smile, he leans close to Clint,” We need to make it seem like the world imploded before he gets back, any ideas?”

“Not how time travel works.” Bruce says, carefully adjusting the different measurements on the suit.

“What? I call bull.” Rhodes says,” You mean every form of media that depicts the fictional act of traveling through time isn’t completely and totally accurate? I’m shocked.”

“Yeah, who would base their ideas of time travel on the silly media.” Scott laughs, his eyes shifting between everyone in the room, trying to see if he really was the only one who thought it worked like that.

“The way Stark has figured out the concept is rather complex.” Vision says, carefully inserting the vial of Pym Particles,” Though possible to physically go back in time through the Quantum Realm, the act itself creates an intense spike in entropy, forcing a miniature big bang to occur simultaneously to the attempt of going back in time. When you emerge at your designated location and time, you actually haven’t moved relative to the base reality we’re stationed in, but instead helped to create a new version of reality that manifests you exactly where you want to be. In the moments it takes to grow, the world aged exactly the same up until the point you arrive in the new reality. Your actions in the new reality determine its future, creating a divergent Timeline for this alternate reality, with little to no effect on your prime reality.” Vision looks around at the stupefied faces around him, choosing to continue talking,” It’s basically the basis for the multiverse theory, that millions of worlds coexist at the same time with slight differences. Instead of time travel, I would say tony has created a way to interact and change the events of some of these Universes. So, in essence, when you go back, you won’t be going back to your past, but the present of an alternate version of yourself existing on a completely different timeline from yourself.”

“That’s...discomforting.” Scott says,” I think?” Vision sighs.

“What you do in the past won’t affect our own future, so kill as many bugs as you’d like.” Vision says with a smile.

“Guys, I really don’t know if I’m up for this. Do I have to do the test run?” Scott looks around worriedly.

“I’ll do it.” Clint says,” If you don’t want to, I’ll try it. The worst case scenario is I get lost in the Quantum Realm, right? But the best case is I get to see my family again, if only temporarily.” Clint smiles to Vision,” I’m prepared for the best.” Vision smirks,” I don’t really understand that whole explanation you did, but depending on the time I choose, I can see my kids, right?” Vision nods,” Then that’s enough.”

Scott derobes, and Clint quickly gets in. They walk Clint up to the glass platform. Tony runs over the basic instructions for the device. Clint gives a thumbs up in understanding.

“Seeing as this is a test run, you’re only going to have a couple minutes in the past.” Bruce says, inputting Clint’s requested coordinates,” Are you ok with that? It’ll be a forceful extraction back to the present.”

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Clint says with a sigh. Bruce looks warily to Tony. Tony nods.

“Commencing the jump in 3, 2, 1…” Clint disappears from the platform. Bruce waits for a minute before flipping a few switches,” Return in 3, 2, 1…”

Clint appears on the platform. He falls to his knees, taking a heavy breath. Nat and Steve rush up to his side. Vision scans him from a distance, he’s the same age, healthy and as mentally sound as he entered. Clint smiles widely, flashing a thumbs up to the group. Everyone smiles and lets out small cheers in response.

“Alright, now that we’ve got the ‘how’ down, we need to get the ‘where’ and ‘when’ for every stone.” Steve says, hoisting Clint onto his shoulder,” I say we hold a strategy meeting in an hour or two. Barton looks like he needs a nap.” Clint chuckles, kicking Steve in the shin.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Clint says,” The faster we get those stones, the faster the world can make sense again.”

The group makes their way to a private conference room. Everyone finds a chair to sit in, making themselves comfortable for the long discussion ahead. Vision interfaces with the projector, pulling up and displaying all requested information by the team. The title of this mission reads as ‘Time Heist’ in the upper lefthand corner of the screen. Steve stands, picking up a dry erase marker and heading over to the glass.

“Everyone here has had a close personal encounter with at least one of the infinity stones.” Steve starts.

“Or you can substitute ‘encounter’ with ‘damn near been killed by’, one of the six infinity stones.” Tony chimes in.

“I haven’t.” Scott says with confusion,” I don’t even know what the hell you’re all talking about.”

“I believe the first question we should be addressing is who’s actually going to be participating in the act of time traveling.” Vision pipes up,” There’s enough for ten round trips, and there’s eleven of us present. Someone’s going to have to stay grounded.”

“I think when we figure out the when and where we’ll be better able to divide teams.” Natasha retorts.

“Fair point.” Vision says, backing down.

“That’s a good point though Vision. We’ll make a note for later.” Steve says, writing down the number ten on an empty section of the glass. “Now, let's go over the stones and possible places we can retrieve them.”

“We’ll start with the big guy.” Tony says, expanding the Reality Stone tab,” I’d say we’ve had a little too much up close and personal contact with this guy. Romanoff, can you tell us any more than we already know about it?”

“The first occurance of the tesseract in old SHIELD records is in the nineteen fourties, when it was weaponized by Hydra. Howard Stark retrieved it, established SHIELD and stored it until a small break in the records from around nineteen eighty nine to nineteen ninety five, when it was mysteriously retrieved by one Nicholas Fury. It was safeguarded until twenty twelve.” Nat pauses, gesturing to the room,” Where it was then retrieved and taken to Asgard. Thor what did you guys do with it?” Thor sits motionless in the corner of the room, shades on.

“Is he asleep?” Steve asks.

“He’s probably dead.” Rhodes jokes.

“No, his vitals indicate he’s merely sleeping.” Vision says, walking over to Thor. He touches Thor’s temple, his fingers glowing white for a moment, before Thor jolts awake.

“What? Huh? I’m up.” Thor sputters out. Vision smiles and sits back down. Rocket looks at him questioningly.

“Let’s call it an energy shot.” Vision whispers to the racoon. Rocket giggles.

“Thor?” Nat asks.

“Pardon?”

“What happened to the Tesseract when it went to Asgard?”

“Ah the Tesseract.” Thor says with a smile,” Yes, we brought it back from New york, and locked it away in the heavily fortified vault. Until Loki got his hands on it and eventually gave it to Thanos.” Thor looks slightly distracted for a moment, before shaking it off and smiling to the group. Steve begins writing notes on the board.

“Um...Captain Rogers?” Vision says. Steve looks over and watches Vision touch the control panel on the conference table, adding bullet points under the blue stone. Steve sighs, dropping the marker to the ground, crossing his arms.

“Now that we’ve got your attention, can you tell us a bit of the Reality stone?” Tony asks. Thor smiles, getting up from his seat,” Oh, no you don’t have to.”

“It’s alright, dear Stark, I am just going to present.” Thor says, pushing Tony out of the way. He stands in front of the group, trying to pull the focus of the Reality stone up onto the screen. Vision silently expands the red stone. Thor looks proud of himself, clearing his throat as he turns his attention to the group. “Well, first off, the Reality Stone isn’t a stone, it’s more of a weird black blobby mess of goop, so let’s make a note of that.” Thor looks at the screen, the note appearing under the image ‘Not a stone, black blob’. “Well, Jane, that’s Jane Foster, and old fling of mine…” Thor pauses, again looking distracted,” She, uh, she dumped me.” Thor shakes his head, trying to clear his head,” Anyways, Jane fell into this pit, or something and found a weird monolith. She stuck her hand inside and the Aether just went like.” Thor mimes one of his hands consuming the other,” Then she got sick. Really sick.” Again, distracted to normal in a few seconds,” The Aether was then taken by Malaketh, a big bad dark elf, and he tried to destroy the world during the convergence. He didn’t succeed, obviously. Then we sucked up the Aether into this cool little box and my friends took away somewhere. Whenever I asked where they took it they would always say nowhere, so I dropped the topic after a while.”

Vision adds small notes to the location of the stone. Unknown to Earth to Asgard, back to Earth then unknown. Thor gives a thumbs up, Vision smiles and returns the gesture. He laughs heartily, making his way back to his chair in the corner. Vision quickly nudges Rocket, silently urging him to talk quickly.

“Ah, alright, ok. We’ll talk about the Power stone next.” Vision pulls up the purple stone, ready to take notes,” Quill told us he found the stone on Morag, in a weird orb. He was chased by Ronan’s goons until he found his way to Xandar. There he had a little tussle with yours truly, Groot and Gamora. Gamora’s a green girl with pink hair, she’s Quill’s girlfriend.”

“Fiercest woman in the galaxy.” Nebula interrupts,” A daughter of Thanos, like me.”

“Whatever.” Rocket scoffs,” Then we went to the kiln, a space prison. We escapes, taking the Orb to Knowhere, where Ronan got it…”

“Wait, where’d you take it?” Nat asks.

“Knowhere?” Rocket asks confused.

“Why don’t you want to tell us?” Tony asks.

“What? No, we took it to Knowhere.” Rocket tries to make his point, getting increasingly frustrated.

“K-n-o-w-h-e-r-e, a planet made from the remains of a celestial at the outer reaches of the Galaxy.” Nebula says, motioning for Rocket to continue.

“So Ronan got the stone, and he went back to Xandar to destroy the planet, but we stopped him. Quill took hold of the stone, then Gamaro was like ‘Take my hand’, then Drax touched Quill, and I touched Drax, and we used the stone to destroy Ronan. Quill sealed the stone and gave it over to the Nova Corps. I heard they were destroyed by Thanos when he retrieved it.” Vision makes the notes of the locations of the stone.

“Ok, we’re making good progress.” Rhodes states.

“Next we’ll talk about the Mind stone.” Steve says,” Vision?”

“Ah, well I guess I can try to remember where it came from.” Vision says with a shrug. He scans through all known news and documentation surrounding the stone, which is very little. “Ok, so I came to being in New York, in 2015. I then trained with the Avengers…”

“No, no we don’t need to know where you were.” Nat says,” We aren’t going to hunt you down for the stone.”

“Ah, well that’s all the historical locations I have for the stone.” Vision says slightly shyly.

“Well, the stone came from the staff. The staff came with Loki in 2012 and spent a decent amount of time in New York.” Tony makes the notes,” Then it looks like it was in Sokovia for a while, powering the Maximoff’s, until it found its home in Vision’s forehead.”

“Ok, I think that’s the best we’ll get with that.” Steve says with a sigh,” Now here come the wild cards. What do we know about the Time stone and Soul stone?”

“A wizard had the Time stone.” Tony says,” I don’t know much more than that. He had a cool pad over off of Bleecker street. I don’t know how long he had it.”

“Better than nothing.” Clint sighs.

“Anyone know anything about the Soul stone?” Tony asks, casting out a net. Nebula hesitantly raises her hand. Tony points to her, calling on her to share like a teacher.

“The only person in the galaxy who knew where to find the stone was my sister, Gamora.” She states, staring at the glass,” She never shared many details with me, but she did give me the location. Vormir.”

“What’s that?” Banner asks.

“A dominion of death...at the very center of celestial existence. It’s where Thanos murdered my sister.” The room falls deathly silent,” She gave me coordinates, don’t worry.”

“Ok, so we’ve got locations for all of them. Now we need to figure out the best places to try and obtain the stones.” Steve says. Vision looks at Nebula, still staring through the glass board. He gently nudges her. She looks at him, emotionless, he makes a gesture to talk outside the room. She stands, walking out. “Uhm.”

“I’ll go talk to her.” Vision says, phasing through the table after her,” Please, continue.”

Nebula walks out into the hall, Vision following quickly after. He places a hand on her shoulder, She shakes it off coldy. She stares at Vision, shrugging and motioning around at the empty hallway. Vision smiles sympathetically.

“I...I know what you want to talk about.” Nebula says, her voice trembling slightly,” It’s just a hard thing to come to terms with.”

“I won’t force you to talk if you don’t want to.” Vision says softly,” But there’s more than the soul stone then you’re letting on, isn’t there.”

“If they don't want to connect the dots, it’s not my fault.” Nebula turns, crossing her arms and keeping them close to her body,” I said the basics, the location of the stone and all that. What more could you possibly want me to say?”

“‘Where he murdered my sister’.” Vision says sadly,” Nebula, if Thanos had to murder Gamora, then I believe that is a serious discussion we need to have. Why did he murder her?” Nebula flinches,” I know it’s not the most graceful way to address this. If you don’t want to say anything, that’s alright. I’ll form my own conclusions, I just wanted confirmation.”

“I don’t know the specifics of how to get the stone.” Nebula says quietly,” But with my sister being so scared to go there, Thanos taking her and returning with the stone. It’s hard not to draw the conclusion…” She turns and looks Vision coldly in the eyes,” A soul for a soul.”

“I see.” Vision had reached this conclusion since before. The equation was too convenient for anything else to be feasible, he’s just hoped it wasn’t the case. He looks to Nebula, she stares at the ground. Vision gently pats her shoulder.

“They don’t know, do they?” Nebula asks softly.

“As much as I can read brain patterns and activity, I cannot tell what they’re thinking.” Vision says gently,” But my guess would be, no. No they don’t.”

“They’re foolish to think there wouldn’t be any casualties on this mission.” Nebula casts her cold stare to the glass conference room, where a lively discussion is on-going. He takes a shaky breath. “I…” She pauses, staring at Rocket,” I’m scared, Vision.”

“Nebs.” Vision Observes her with heartache.

“If you knew that one of your friends were going to leave forever and never return, but you kept that to yourself, do you think they’d forgive you?” She asks, looking to the conference room once more.

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” 

“Vision.” She says coldly,” I...I know. I don’t want to lose any friends, but we need that stone, don’t we?” She looks to Vision, a single tear in her eye,” What if we kept this between us, and I’ll...if I can help to bring back the rest of his family, do you think he’ll forgive a last selfish action?”

“It’s not selfish.” Vision says, his own voice shaking as he observes Nebula,” He’ll be horribly sad. We all will, no matter who makes the sacrifice.”

“If I think about it as getting the ultimate revenge on Thanos, the idea doesn’t seem half bad.” Nebula says in a slightly positive tone,” What better way to destroy his legacy, then to rid him of all of his children and reverse his greatest accomplishment?”

“Nebs...we can discuss it with the group. You don’t have to shoulder this on your own.” Vision says, stifling a small sob,” You may be a daughter of Thanos, but you are by no means defined by only that. You’re a Guardian, an Avenger, a hero.”

“Only to Earth.” She sighs sarcastically. She looks to Vision, gently patting his cheek,” I’ll strengthen my resolve until the mission. I’ll live without regret these last few days.``

“Nebs.”

“There’s a strange sort of comfort…” She begins walking back to the conference room,” Knowing when you’ll die.” She motions for Vision to follow.

“Whatever you want, I’ll do my best to get it.” Vision says with a sad tremble,” I’ll make sure your last days are the best you’ll ever have.” Nebula pauses, taking a heavy breath, before entering the room.

“So, the main place we’ll try to get the Reality stone will be Asgaurd, as that’s kinda the only place we know where it is.” Steve says with a sigh,” We’ll get the Power stone on Morag, and someone will go to Vormir for the Soul Stone.”

“The Mind stone, Time stone and Space stone are questionably the hardest to place at the moment.” Tony says, Vision takes a seat. Looking through the different data points he looks around the room.

“Since we know so little about the Time Stone’s location, what if we just assume the stone has always resided within the ‘neat little house on Bleecker’.” Vision says, thinking out loud.

“Then that would mean, if we choose the right year, all three of them would be in New York at the same time.” Nat says, following Vision’s train of thought. Everyone pauses, taking a moment to process this information. 

“I guess that’s that.” Tony says with a laugh,” New York, 2012; Asgard, 2013; Morag, 2014; and Vormir, 2014.”

“We’ve got dates and locations.” Clint says with a sigh,” Now comes the question of who's staying behind. How are we going to split up the teams?” Everyone shifts a little uncomfortably.

“If you give me enough time to scan through everyone’s particular skill sets, and allow me to question you all about your known events during the time periods we’ve decided on, I can create the teams with the greatest chance of success.” Vision says,” I’ll just need a day or two, but it’ll be our best bet.”

“That’s a good idea.” Steve says, pointing reassuringly towards Vision,” I want the best possible chances for this mission. Any objections?”

Everyone stays quiet.Steve nods to Vision. Vision begins scanning through his known records of everyone in the room, taking notes of strengths and weaknesses. While he sits, everyone stands to stretch and walk around. 

Vision interviews Rocket, Nebula, Nat, Steve, Clint and Tony about their respective knowledge regarding the specifics of the locations. Vision takes notes, and continues to calculate. It takes him a full day to come up with the best team structure. Vision calls for a team meeting. 

“I’ve run the numbers, and here’s the most efficient team structures I can come up with.” Vision states, pulling up the six stones categorized based on where the teams will be headed,” I think the best combination to send to Asgard would, of course, include Thor and Clint.”

“I get Thor, but why me?” Clint asks with a scoff.

“You’re a highly qualified spy, with dozens of missions under your belt. You know how to quickly get in and out of a location with ease. You’ll be essential to retrieving the stone from Miss Foster and leaving swiftly.” Vision says, materializing the pair’s picture under the Reality Stone. Clint shrugs in compliance. “Next, I believe the best pair to retrieve the Power stone on Morag will be Rocket and Rhodes.”

“What?” Rhodes asks in disbelief.

“Rocket is far more familiar with the tools and weapons Mister Quill has at that time. Rhodes, you’re suit is armed with enough suppressive force to make quick work of Quill, allowing for the quick acquisition of the stone.” Vision materializes their pictures under the Power stone,” For the Soul stone, I believe Natasha and Nebula would be ideal. Natasha is one of the best fast paced combatants, and Nebula has most of the information regarding the stone, along with a large arsenal of firepower within her being.”

Vision looks to Nebula. She nods slightly. The two had talked about it during her interview, about who she would most like to come with her to Vormir. She wanted Rocket at first, but realized that someone with experience with Quill should intercept him on Morag. She was between Nat and Vision for her second choice, but she decided that Nat would be the best choice. She’s empathetic, and would be able to understand her reasoning. Vision understood, he wanted Nebula to feel her most comfortable for her last mission, even if it meant he wouldn’t be there to say the last goodbye.

“Finally, for the New York bounty.” Vision pulls up the three stones,” Tony and Scott have the best means to obtain the tesseract from the Iron Man of the period. Steve, I believe you could easily fool whoever had control of the staff, based on your image around that period in time. Finally, I believe that I would be the best option to retrieve the Time stone. In the event the stone is located somewhere else in the world, I have the flight and speed to quickly access anywhere on the planet to retrieve it.” Vision looks around the room, landing on Doctor Banner,” Apologies, Doctor Banner, but I feel we’ll need you to man the controls of the tunneling device for forceful extraction in case of the worst possible scenario.” Bruce rubs his jaw in contemplation, sighing.

“It makes sense.” Hulk says lightly,” I’m alright with that. We need someone to monitor the machine's functionality.”

“Thanks for being so understanding, Bruce.” Steve says with a smile,” I like the teams. It looks like Vision put a lot of thought into this.” 

“I agree.” Nebula says calmly.

“The suits will be ready in a few days.” Tony says with a sigh,” I suggest everyone create a last living will and testament before we leave.” Tony smiles hollowly, he’s serious. Everyone excuses themselves for their respective tasks. Vision aids Tony in the completion of the suits, and the group is ready to set out within the week. 

The group triumphantly enters the hangar, each donned in their specialized suits. The group stands on top of the quantum tunneling device, registering their specified locations and time in their suits. Everyone looks hesitant to each other, giving wary smiles.

“Initiating the jump…” Bruce says. 

“Good luck.” Nat says with a smile to the group.

“Three, two, one…”

Vision smiles as the world he knows dissapears.


End file.
